Cargill to Form Joint Venture with Hojiblanca 

17/10/07 Two of the world’s leading vegetable oil companies, Cargill and the Spanish co-operative Hojiblanca, are to form a 50:50 joint venture (JV) to source, trade and supply customers worldwide with private label and bulk olive oil. The JV, which is subject to approval from the Spanish competition authorities, will set the quality benchmark in the world’s olive oil market. 

Comments Paul Naar, executive vice president of Cargill’s food ingredient business in Europe/Africa: “This marks a significant step towards worldwide leadership in the olive oil market. Customers will benefit from the expertise Hojiblanca has in olive oil sourcing and the bottling, risk management and global reach of Cargill.” 

Global demand for olive oil is expected to increase significantly and the JV will focus on meeting this need. The JV, which will strengthen Cargill’s involvement in high premium olive oil, will complement its existing oil offering to customers worldwide that in volume terms has focused primarily on sunflower, rapeseed, soya, corn and palm. Cargill currently bottles olive oil at plants in Spain, Belgium and France. The company also distributes to customers across Europe, Asia and
the Americas. 

Hojiblanca produces an annual average of 90,000 tonnes of olive oil, has 49 oil mills and represents more than 28,000 farmers. It is market leader in Spain for extra virgin olive oil and is highly regarded internationally for its commitment to high quality products and reliability. 

Comments José Moreno, president of Hojiblanca: “The initiative will combine Hojiblanca’s expertise as the world’s largest olive oil producer with Cargill’s well-established global network of vegetable oil customers. The JV will offer private label customers in Spain and worldwide the opportunity to retail bespoke products, tailor-made to their requirements.”