CHICAGO (Reuters) – Bunge Ltd. said on
Wednesday it is in the process of exiting the global sugar
trading business in order to concentrate on its core grains and
agriculture operations, after reporting a fourth-quarter loss.
White Plains, N.Y.-based Bunge has previously said it was
looking at options to divest from its sugar unit, which includes
milling operations in Brazil.
Chief Executive Soren Schroder said on a conference call
Bunge had struggled over the last year to generate enough gross
margin to cover costs in sugar. The plans to sell Bunge’s sugar
milling business were not dependent on keeping the company’s
global sugar trading operations, he said.
“We simply decided that it was time to really focus on
what’s core to us, which is agribusiness, foods, grains and
oilseeds and get on with it in a good way,” he said.
