World-Grain.com | May 05, 2009

by World Grain Staff

TOKYO, JAPAN — Marubeni Corporation and Amaggi Exportação e Importação announced on May 1 that the companies have concluded a comprehensive collaboration agreement and agreed to strengthen their cooperation in various fields.

Amaggi has the ability to consolidate directly from farmers, especially from their group-owned farms, which exclusively grow non-GMO soybeans, where non-GMO crops are becoming increasingly difficult to originate, the company said. Marubeni said it has already established a foothold in Brazil with investments in port facilities. The company said the collaboration agreement will be another step towards strengthening Marubeni's supply chain in the world of grains, where origination is becoming more and more of a challenge. In this agreement, Amaggi and Marubeni have committed each other on the following terms:

• To jointly consolidate grains and oilseeds, including non-GMO soybeans, with a volume of up to 1 million tons per year, by the year 2010.
• To jointly market Brazilian grains and oilseeds into Asian nations, notably Japan.
• To study joint investment into South American port facilities, especially in Brazil.

Marubeni said it plans to expand its supply source in grain-producing nations — such as Brazil — as a part of its foods strategy in the distribution and trading. Brazil is one of the world's largest suppliers of grains and is said to have another 250 million acres of arable land waiting to be reclaimed, according to Marubeni. The country is viewed as the next major supply source of grains and oilseeds after the United States, Marubeni added.