In Brief
CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — Cargill Inc. has reported a six percent drop in quarterly profits as a global glut of grains limited trading opportunities.
Four years of bumper grain and oilseeds harvests have squeezed profits for the major grain companies, and traders expect more of the same next year, prompting cost cuts.
Cargill’s unit that buys, trades and processes grains and oilseeds was the only one that saw quarterly earnings decline from a year ago. It was the eighth time in the past 14 quarters that the unit posted a year-on-year decline, reflecting pressure from massive inventories, reduced price volatility and clipped margins.
