World Grain - November 2021 - 10

NEWS REVIEW
Grupo Trimex to buy Bunge's Mexico mills
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, US - Mexico's largest flour miller
Grupo Trimex has reached an agreement to acquire seven Mexico
wheat flour mills from Bunge Ltd. for an undisclosed sum.
The completion of the transaction is subject to customary
closing conditions, including regulatory approval.
The plants are located in Campeche, Mexico City, Acapulco,
Guadalupe, Queretaro, Navojoa and Veracruz.
The move continues a recent trend by Bunge to optimize its
portfolio to focus on core businesses, which has been a priority
of Greg Heckman, chief executive officer, since he joined
the company in 2019.
" Bunge is most effective when we operate our value chains
end-to-end, collaborating closely with our farmers and customers, "
Heckman said. " The wheat milling business in
Mexico is not fully integrated in the way that is critical to
successfully serving our customers in line with our long-term
sustainable and strategic goals.
" We believe selling the business to a well-respected
wheat miller will provide a great opportunity for our
LDC, Port of Seattle union workers reach deal
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, US - Longshore workers from
the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU)
Local 19 who work at the Port of Seattle's export grain terminal
in the North Harbor recently voted in favor by a 93%
yes vote to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with
Louis Dreyfus Co. (LDC) following three years of negotiations
with the Netherlands-based company.
Negotiations for the new agreement began in the spring of
2018, and the previous agreement expired on May 31, 2018.
The ILWU said improvements in the new agreement are significant
for several reasons.
First, it achieves wage parity and creates a level playing
field with the American-owned grain exporter, TEMCO, which
was previously paying a higher rate than the foreign-owned
LDC. TEMCO, a joint venture of Cargill and CHS, employs
ILWU grain handlers at its facilities in the ports of Tacoma and
Kalama, Washington, US, and Portland, Oregon, US. Secondly,
the ILWU said the agreement with LDC will pave the way
to bring negotiations with other foreign-based grain exporters
in line. The other foreign-based corporations hiring ILWU
workers in the Pacific Northwest grain terminals include:
* United Grain Corp. (UGC) - owned by Mitsui of
Japan, operating at the Port of Vancouver, Vancouver,
Washington, US.
* Columbia Export Terminal (CET) - owned by
Marubeni of Japan, operating at the Port of Portland,
Oregon, US.
* EGT, owned by Korea-based Pan Ocean/Harim and
US-based Bunge, operating at the Port of Longview,
Washington, US.
* The ILWU said the LDC agreement will serve as a
benchmark for its 2022 negotiations with EGT.
" This new grain agreement between the ILWU grain handlers
on the docks and the European employer brings both
parties into the future to build upon our decades of successful,
profitable movement of grain in the Pacific Northwest, " said
Cam Williams, ILWU Coast Committeeman. " It includes advanced
training programs, workforce stability, and operational
improvements that will improve working conditions and productivity
for the benefit of America's farmers and workers. "
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November 2021 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com
employees as well as our customers. "
Bunge, which has focused on bolstering its oilseeds platform
and expanding into complementary businesses during
Heckman's tenure, said it will continue to serve its oil and
meal customers in Mexico and will continue to operate its
corn mill in Querétaro.
In the past two years, Bunge has sold 35 US grain elevators
to Zen-Noh Grain Corp., ended its stake in Southwest Iowa
Renewable Energy, LLC, and sold its rice mill in California to
Farmers' Rice Cooperative.
Although it has divested its Mexico flour milling operations,
Bunge still operates seven wheat flour mills in Brazil.
Grupo Trimex, meanwhile, expands its leading market share
in wheat flour milling. It now will have 20 flour mills in Mexico
that grind three types of wheat - hard, soft and durum.
Founded in 1995 with the merger of four wheat mills in
Mexico City, Grupo Trimex began acquiring Mexican mills
over the next 20 years, including the acquisition of the wheat
flour milling operations of Gruma in 2014.

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World Grain - November 2021

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