Bunge to discontinue crush operations in Marks, Miss.
October 29, 2007 - St. Louis, Missouri - Bunge North America, the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), announced that it is discontinuing soybean processing operations at its plant in Marks, Miss. by the end of the year. The facility will remain open as a grain elevator and will expand its operations to include wheat and corn in addition to soybeans.
“A combination of factors led to the difficult decision to stop crushing including the age and inefficiency of the plant and an insufficient year round supply of local beans,” said Greg Bechtel, vice president and general manager, Bunge Oilseed Processing. “As a member of the Marks community for more than 25 years, we are disappointed that we must end crushing operations but we are pleased that we will continue to serve local farmers with an expansion of our grain capabilities in Marks.”
Some of the facility’s 65 employees will remain on staff to operate the elevator. Employees will also have the opportunity apply for positions at other Bunge plants.
Bunge will honor all soybean contracts as well as its meal and oil contracts. In addition, the company will begin posting bids for wheat and corn in the near future. The facility will continue to receive soybeans and will begin receiving grain with the 2008 wheat harvest.
About Bunge North America
Bunge North America (www.bungenorthamerica.com), the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited (NYSE: BG), is a vertically integrated food and feed ingredient company, supplying raw and processed agricultural commodities and specialized food ingredients to a wide range of customers in the livestock, poultry, food processor, foodservice and bakery industries. With headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, Bunge North America and its subsidiaries operate grain elevators, oilseed processing plants, edible oil refineries and packaging facilities, and corn dry mills in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
About Bunge Limited
Bunge Limited (www.bunge.com) is a leading global agribusiness and food company founded in 1818 and headquartered in White Plains, New York. Bunge’s over 22,000 employees in over 30 countries enhance lives by improving the global agribusiness and food production chain. The company supplies fertilizer to farmers in South America, originates, transports and processes oilseeds, grains and other agricultural commodities worldwide, produces food products for commercial customers and consumers and supplies raw materials and services to the biofuels industry.
Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains both historical and forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather reflect our current expectations and projections about our future results, performance, prospects and opportunities. We have tried to identify these forward-looking statements by using words including “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend,” “estimate,” “continue” and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results, performance, prospects or opportunities, as well as those of the markets we serve or intend to serve, to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. The following important factors, among others, could affect our business and financial performance: our ability to complete, integrate and benefit from acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and strategic alliances; estimated demand for the commodities and other products that we sell and use in our business; industry conditions, including the cyclicality of the agribusiness industry and unpredictability of the weather; agricultural, economic and political conditions in the primary markets where we operate; and other economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors affecting our business generally. The forward-looking statements included in this release are made only as of the date of this release, and except as otherwise required by federal securities law, we do not have any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstance.