12/18/2008 15h38
Louis Dreyfus Group makes plans to increase ethanol production
Valor Econômico - 12/18/2008
The global financial crisis, which worsened the situation of some sugar and alcohol plants of the country, opened opportunities for other more capitalized companies in the sugar and alcohol sector. In this special group is the French Louis Dreyfus Commodities (LDC), which prospects investments to extend its arms into this segment in the next years. "The sector now offers a great number of opportunities. We are keeping an eye out", affirms Bruno Melcher, Chairman of the Council of the LDC Bioenergia, to Valor. Discreet, the company entered the sector in 2000, with the purchase of the Cresciumal plant, located in Leme (SP). Next, it acquired two other plants: São Carlos, installed in the city with the same name, and Luciânia, in Lagoa da Prata (MG). In the beginning of last year, it purchased, at once, the assets of the Tavares de Melo group, with five producing units, which turned the company into one of the largest of the sector. For 2009/10, the group should increase the sugar milling in 30%, going from 15 million tons this current harvest to almost 20 million tons, affirms Melcher. This expansion will occur with the increase of the capacity of the eight plants of the owned by group. "We have made progress. Last year, we inaugurated the Rio Brilhante (MS) unit", he says. With an income of US$ 3 billion in Brazil and US$ 27 billion in the world (base of 2007), LD Commodities plans on investing almost US$ 1 billion in the country until 2010, and a great part of it will be intended for the sugar and alcohol sector. In the last four years, the group invested US$ 1.125 billion in the country to increase its agricultural business. The French company is among the parties interested in entering into a partnership with the Nova América group, which is looking for a partner to move on with their businesses. According to Melcher, the group does not rule out making partnerships in order to increase the businesses in the sector. Headquartered in São Paulo, the giant company also operates four oil processing plants, three orange juice plants, two port terminals (Paranaguá and Santos), more than 50 bulk warehouses, and manages more than 200 thousand hectares of land, between orange and sugar cane plantations. In Brazil since 1905, the group used to operate only in the commerce of cotton and wheat. After acquiring the Comércio e Indústrias Brasileiras Coinbra S/A, in 1942, the company expanded its activities to the sale of sugar, citric products and coffee as well. In the nineties, the company increased the agricultural production of citric products and oily seeds. In the beginning of 2000, it started operating in the sugar and alcohol sector.
