Bunge to acquire Louisiana refinery from Fuji Oil, deal will support its food, feed and fuel businesses

13-Apr-2023 - Last updated on 13-Apr-2023 at 07:47 GMT

Cargo ships on the Mississippi River © GettyImages/Art Wager

Related tags Bunge port-based refinery soybeans

US agribusiness giant, Bunge, has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement with Fuji Oil New Orleans to acquire its newly constructed, port-based refinery located in IMTT’s Avondale Terminal, Louisiana, on the Mississippi River.

The deal, said Bunge, will provide it with a scalable, complementary port-based location, capable of linking its North American food, feed, and fuel customers to global markets.

"It is a port-based facility with multi-oil refining capabilities that connects with our existing footprint in the country," said a spokesperson.

The transaction is being conducted through the Bunge Loders Croklaan JV with IOI Corporation Berhad. Its finalization is subject to customary closing conditions.

The company did not disclose the financial details of the deal.

Operations at the site are expected to begin in the second quarter of 2023. However, Bunge said it plans to significantly expand the facility’s current capacity, creating new job opportunities for the local community.

“The capacity will be available for all of Bunge’s food, feed, and fuel customers. The engineering and procurement of critical equipment has commenced,” added the representative.

Soy protein concentrate facility build

In terms of other recent facility investments, December last year saw Bunge announce plans to invest around $550m in the construction of a fully integrated soy protein concentrate (SPC) and textured soy protein concentrate (TSPC) facility.

That plant is expected to meet rising customer demand for key ingredients in the production of plant-based foods, processed meat, pet food, and feed products.

Construction of the facility, which will be adjacent to and integrated with Bunge’s soybean processing plant in Morristown, Indiana, is expected to be commissioned in mid-2025, creating around 70 full time jobs. It will process close to an additional 4.5 million bushels of soybeans.

The new facility is set to add significant scale, efficiencies, and non-GMO capability to the company’s existing US-based conventional SPC and TSPC operation in Bellevue, Ohio. Bunge said it plans to contract with farmers to establish a traceable soybean sourcing program starting with the 2025 harvest.