Unilever Sunday announced a small but important step towards 100% sustainable sourcing of its agricultural raw materials by 2020. Unilever, a founding member of the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), bought some of the first available certificates for sustainable soy. This follows the recent introduction of the RTRS certification scheme.
Unilever Brazil bought certificates that [...]

Tereos International is to expand the operations of its sugar and ethanol subsidiary in Brazil, Guarani. Tereos announced plans to invest 767 million reais ($476 million) to expand sugarcane crushing capacity and energy cogeneration of the subsidiary over the next 4 years.
This investment plan will benefit from a long-term 764 million reais financing agreement secured [...]

Archer Daniels Midland Company Thursday announced plans to invest in sustainable palm production in Brazil. Spread over five years, the ADM investment will encompass approximately 12,000 hectares of palm production in the state of Para and include the construction of a palm processing plant.
Construction of the processing plant is expected to begin in 2013, with [...]

According to a report carried by Bloomberg, Brazil’s and the world’s biggest iron ore exporter, Vale SA, has focused a significant amount of its investments in fertilizers to meet rising Brazilian demand. Bloomberg cited a company official, reporting that Vale’s move aims at increased fertilizer production, to meet the rising demand for the product in [...]

Noble Group has entered into agreements to acquire Catanduva and Potirendaba sugar mills in Sao Paulo, Brazil for US$950 million. The acquisitions will propel the Group into the top tier of sugar cane milling companies globally, taking the combined annual potential crushing sugar cane capacity that Noble will control to 17.5 million tonnes.
The two mills [...]

Reports surfaced in a local Brazilian newspaper that Vale; one of the country’s biggest mining firms is keen on raising its presence in the fertilizer sector with additional acquisitions. The move comes as a continued push by Vale for a foothold in the Fertilizer industry over the recent months.
The newspaper reports indicated that Vale might [...]

India’s largest sugar refiner Shree Renuka Sugars said Friday that it is considering additional investments in Brazil. Shree Renuka Sugars already owns majority stakes in two Brazilian firms that it acquired last year November. The Indian sugar producer said it would be acquiring more investments to bolster its existing two and increase its presence and [...]

Brazilian company, Laep Investments Limited, Thursday announced that it had reached an agreement with Global Yield Fund Limited (GEM) for a capital injection of about $42.3 million. Laep Investments Ltd is a Brazilian fund responsible for the Parmalat dairy Company, as well located in the country. In the agreement, GEM will fund Laep’s investment and [...]

JBS SA, Brazil based and the world’s biggest producer of beef, reported that it had agreed on a deal for the purchase of McElhaney Feedyard in Arizona, USA, at an investment worth $24 million.  According to a statement from the company, the Feedyard has a one time capacity to feed 130,000 head of cattle and [...]

The Libyan Arab Foreign Investment Company, Lafico, (a sovereign Libyan fund), reported that it is currently seeking investment opportunities in Brazil. The fund’s envoys have made previous investment study visits to the country, analyzing partnerships in the production of food in irrigated areas in the North East of the country.
The director, infrastructure and Integrated Development [...]