Large Producer News

U.S. agribusiness company Archer Daniels Midland Co has agreed to sell a 50-percent stake in its Barcarena grain export terminal in northern Brazil to commodities trader Glencore PLC, the company said during an analyst call on Tuesday. The companies are planning to increase the terminal's annual capacity to 6 million tonnes, from the current 1.5 million tonnes, after the deal, which is expected to close in the first half of 2015 pending regulatory approvals, ADM later detailed in a news release. The upgrade will allow the terminal to begin loading larger panamax vessels, which can hold around 60,000 tonnes, the company said. "Agricultural production is expanding rapidly in northern and western Brazil…

The Estaleiro Rio Maguari, a shipyard in the District of Icoaraci in Belem, the capital of the State of Para in the Amazon estuary (See google earth 1 degree 17 minutes South and 48 degrees 26 minutes West) is currently finishing up a 4000 HP Z-drive harbour tug for Hermasa Navegação da Amazônia. The owners are a part of Hermasa a large producer of soya beans with 2.5 million tons exported in 2007. The new tug, named Stefanolocks, is 85.3 ft by 29.2 ft with a molded depth of 15.7 ft. Propulsion power will be a pair of Cummins QSK60-M each delivering 2000 hp at 1,800 rpm.

Executives from APM Terminals and Gestao de Fundos, an Angolan-based company have signed a 20 year concession agreement with the government of Angola to operate the country’s main container port. A joint venture named Sogester, based in Luanda, Angola, will be the local company of record, operating the container terminal. Angola is a large producer of oil and has a fast growing economy with double digit GDP growth expected to continue in the years ahead. Major infrastructure investment is underway in the oil/gas and related industries and there is continued development of hinterland road and rail links to further stimulate economic development and international trade.