Bunge Buys Second Chinese Soy Plant

NEW YORK - Jan 13/06 - SNS -- Bunge Limited is buying an integrated soybean crushing and refining plant in the port city of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, from Dalian Huanong Group Ltd.

The plant, Bunge's second in the country, will link the company directly to customers in the expanding soybean meal and oil markets in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces and other Yangtze River regions.

Driven by rapid commercialization of its meat and feed industries, China's consumption of soybean meal has risen at a compound annual rate of over 13% since 1999, according to USDA statistics. Last year the country's share of total global soybean meal consumption was approximately 17%. As China's largest river port and a critical transfer point for river, road and rail logistics in the Yangtze River region, Nanjing provides access to some of the largest and fastest-growing meat producing and oil consumption regions in China.

The plant, which was constructed in May 2004, has daily crushing and refining capacities of 2,000 and 300 metric tons (MT), respectively. It is located adjacent to soybean discharge facilities in the port of Nanjing. Bunge will supply the plant from its soybean origination networks in North and South America.