Bunge Limited and Office Cherifien des Phosphates to Form Joint Venture Fertilizer Company in Morocco

23/05/07 Bunge Limited and Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP), announced the formation of a 50/50 joint venture to produce fertilizers in Morocco. The company, Bunge Maroc Phosphore S/A, will expand overall production capacity in Morocco and serve as an additional source of phosphate-based raw materials and intermediate products for Bunge's fertilizer businesses in Brazil and Argentina. The companies will finance the venture with an estimated $350 million in debt and equity over the next three years. Bunge's equity investment will total an estimated $54 million.

The Brazilian retail fertilizer market has grown by 50 percent since 1997, as production of soy, corn, sugar and other crops in the nation has increased. Today, Brazil imports roughly 50 percent of the phosphate fertilizers it consumes. Argentina imports 100 percent. When fully operational in 2010, Bunge Maroc Phosphore is expected to have 375,000 tons of annual production capacity, from which it will manufacture phosphoric acid, triple superphosphate, and monoammonium and diammonium phosphate for shipment to Brazil, Argentina and other markets in Latin America. Bunge is South America's largest manufacturer of fertilizer and a leading producer of related animal nutrition products. The company currently operates four major phosphate mines in Brazil.

"Brazil and Argentina are two of the world's fastest-growing agricultural producers, and as crop production expands in the countries, demand for phosphate-based fertilizers will grow," stated Mario Barbosa, CEO, Bunge Fertilizantes. "This joint venture will provide additional raw materials to help Bunge meet this increased demand, and will enhance the capacity and efficiency of fertilizer production in Morocco."

Bunge Maroc Phosphore's production facilities will be located in an existing industrial complex in the port city of Jorf Lasfar. Bunge will utilize its ocean freight logistics network to backhaul fertilizer shipments from Morocco to Latin America in the same vessels it uses to ship grains and agricultural products to Europe.

OCP produces over 25 million tons of phosphate rock per year and owns a significant portion of the world's phosphate reserves.