Dive Brief:
- Bunge announced plans to build a port terminal on Australia's east coast. The facility would have an export capacity of 45,000 metric tons of grain per year.
- News of a new terminal comes just a year after Bunge opened a port terminal on Australia's west coast. The new eastern facility is far more controversial, giving Bunge a presence in the heart of rival GrainCorp's territory.
- Late last year Australian politicians blocked ADM's planned $2.6 billion takeover of GrainCorp.
Dive Insight:
News that Bunge would build on Australia's east coast is already creating speculation that ADM will try once more to take control of GrainCorp. Perhaps that will happen. And perhaps Australia's political left won't block a second attempt.
But it would seem just as likely that the protectionist elements in Australian politics could try to stop the new port by White Plains, NY-based Bunge.