Bunge loads ship with record volume of sugar in Brazil
The Brazilian unit of agribusiness giant Bunge Ltd said on Thursday it is loading the UBC Ottawa with more than 105,500 tonnes of raw sugar at the port of Santos, which will set a record for a single shipment of the sweetener.
The cape-size vessel under the Dutch flag will head for the refinery in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, once it finishes loading and clearing the inner harbor at Santos, the main outlet for Brazil’s sea-borne sugar trade.
Reuters’ ship tracking service shows the ship anchored at Bunge’s terminal at port on Thursday afternoon.
Gabriel Carvalho, commercial director at Bunge Brasil, said in a statement that the record shipment would “amplify the competitiveness of Brazilian sugar on the international market.”
The previous record shipment was for 81,000 tonnes in 2006, Bunge said.
Bunge, one of Brazil’s leading producers and exporters of sugar, said last November that it was open to selling its sugar and ethanol assets in the country due to poor returns.
In the company’s most recent earnings call, executives said Bunge has still not received any offers for its sugar and ethanol business in Brazil that provided investors with an attractive value on investment.
The company operates eight sugar and ethanol mills in Brazil.
Bunge moves 5 million tonnes of sugar across the world each year, drawing on sugar production from Brazil, Thailand and other sources and delivering it to consumers in China, Canada and the Middle East.
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