Louis Dreyfus to invest US$1 billion in Brazilian port infrastructure

Louis Dreyfus Commodities is to invest half its budget over the next five years in improving logistics in Brazil. This means that around $1 billion be dedicated to expanding infrastructure to store grain. Of this, 70% is destined to increase export capacity at ports in the north of the country.

In June, it will open a new grain terminal in the port of Itaquí. Initially, the terminal will be able to handle 1.25mt (million tonnes) of grain annually, of which half will be provided by LDC and the other half by its project partner Amaggi Exportação. Nevertheless, it will open too late to handle this year’s harvest, and will therefore export probably no more than 300,000 tonnes. Within the next three years, the second stage of the terminal will come online, allowing it to handle around 2.5mt annually.