2/10/2011 --- Archer Daniels Midland Company has announced plans to invest in sustainable palm production in Brazil. Spanning five years, the ADM investment will encompass approximately 12,000 hectares of palm production in the state of Pará and include the construction of a palm processing plant.

Construction of the processing plant near São Domingos do Capim approximately 100 miles east of Belém, the state capital of Pará is expected to begin in 2013, with operations commencing in 2016.
 
“Our strategy for profitable growth is to expand the size and global reach of our origination and processing assets,” said ADM Chairman, CEO and President Patricia Woertz. “This investment adds a new crop to our value chain in Brazil and diversifies our feedstock options for biodiesel production there, while at the same time supporting our commitment to sustainability in terms of both agricultural production and the livelihoods of farm families in Brazil.”

ADM’s sustainable palm and biodiesel production will also be part of Brazil’s Social Fuel Stamp program that provides incentives for biodiesel producers to purchase feedstock from small family farms. As part of this program, ADM will contract with approximately 600 family farms for 6,000 hectares of palm production and provide them with technical assistance focused on sustainable agricultural practices.

“We are encouraged by the commitment of the Brazilian government to promote sustainable agricultural development that not only helps meet the growing energy demands of the country, but also improves the livelihoods of thousands of farm families through the Sustainable Fuel Stamp program,” said Domingo Lastra, president of ADM do Brasil Ltda. “Our investment in sustainable palm production will positively impact the lives of more than 3,000 people through higher farm incomes.”

As a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, ADM will meet all RSPO guidelines relating to the palm plantation and processing facility.

ADM began operations in Brazil in 1997 after purchasing soybean processing plants in Rondonópolis, Campo Grande, Joaçaba, Três Passos and Paranaguá. In 2002, ADM opened a fertilizer blending facility in Rondonópolis; in 2007, the company began biodiesel production in Rondonópolis; and in November 2010, ADM announced plans to construct a biodiesel plant adjacent to its existing oilseed operations in Joaçaba.

Today, ADM has more than 3,000 employees in Brazil and is the largest domestic soybean meal supplier, second largest soybean crusher and second largest producer of bottled oil, with 21 percent of Brazil’s bottled oil market. The company is also the largest soybean meal exporter, the second largest exporter of soybeans and the Brazilian economy’s sixth largest exporter overall.

ADM currently operates 42 grain elevators in Brazil. In addition to four soybean processing facilities and its Rondonópolis biodiesel plant, ADM also operates a cocoa processing facility in Ilhéus, Bahia, and three fertilizer blending plants – one in Catalão, one in Paranaguá and one in Rondonópolis.

ADM supports the development of sustainable palm sources for the benefit of growers and customers, and is a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.  In Brazil, ADM has a partnership with Aliança Da Terra, a leading advocate for sustainability, to encourage Brazilian soy growers to adopt sustainable farming practices, and the company is a signatory of the Soy Moratorium, affirming our commitment to not purchase soybeans grown in recently deforested areas of the Amazon Biome.