December 2, 2004

Brazil's Coinbra Closes Soy Crushing Plant

Brazil's Coinbra, subsidiary of the French group Louis Dreyfus, will close its soybean crushing plant in Orlandia, northern Sao Paulo state, due to declining crushing margins, according to the local business daily Valor Economico.
 
Coinbra had operated at the site of the old Comove factory in the region since 1997 but decided to close the factory after opening larger operations in Goias, Parana and Mato Grosso states, said Fernando Moraes, Coinbra's president.
 
A large number of crushing units closed early this season across the world's No. 2 soy country because of difficulty obtaining soybeans at prices low enough to make crushing profitable.
 
The Orlandia unit crushed 900 metric tons of soybeans per day. Meanwhile, the company recently opened a factory with the capacity to crush 3,000 tons per day in Alta Araguaia in Mato Grosso. It also doubled crushing capacity at its Ponto Grosso factory to 3,000 tons per day and at its Jatai unit in Goias state to 2,000 tons per day.
 
The Orlandia unit stopped operating early this season.
 
Brazil is the world's No. 2 producer and exporter of soybeans, soymeal and soyoil.