April 16, 2007

Cargill's Amazon port terminal reopens in Brazil

Cargill's soy port terminal in Santarem, Para on the Amazon River in Brazil was reopened Thursday (Apr 12) evening under court order, Cargill said in a press release Friday.

A federal judge in Brasilia said the soy port could be reopened after being closed by a Para federal judge Mar 23. The port has been the brunt of legal disputes for the past four years over whether or not Cargill needed to provide an additional environmental impact study prior to building the soy-only facility.

Cargill is awaiting a final decision on an appeal as to whether the second impact study was required. If it is decided that Cargill needs to provide another impact study, the company said it would produce one for the court.

Cargill is a leading international food commodities exporter. The company ships one million tonnes of soybeans from Santarem each year.

Brazil is the world's no. 2 soy exporter behind the US.