Contact:
Geraldine O’Shea, +44 1932 861174, geraldine_o’shea@cargill.com
Francis De Rosa +44 1932 861174, francis_derosa@cargill.com
Cargill to form joint venture with major Spanish olive oil company Hojiblanca
Update: 27th November 2007
Spanish competition authorities have today approved the formation of a joint venture between Cargill and the Spanish co-operative Hojiblanca. The joint venture, announced in October, has been formed to source, trade and supply olive oil to customers worldwide.
COBHAM, UK — 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.”
Cargill
Cargill is an international provider of food, agricultural and risk management products and services. With 158,000 employees in 66 countries, the company is committed to using its knowledge and experience to collaborate with customers to help them succeed.
Cargill has been active in Spain since 1960 and now has 17 locations in the country. Its business activities in Spain include: grain and oilseed trading; oilseed crushing, refining, bottling; animal feed formulation, production and distribution; agriculture risk management; commodity trading; malt production; specialty food ingredients including flavours and texturizers and the production and sales of starches, sweeteners and starch derivatives.
Hojiblanca
Hojiblanca is a major farmer co-operative in the south of Spain and has its main office in Antequera, a few kilometres from Malaga. The co-operative produces a leading extra virgin olive oil in Spain under the brand name Hojiblanca. Hojiblanca had a turnover of €356 million in 2006 and is the leader in the Spanish extra virgin olive oil market.