Cargill opened for business in Venezuela in 1986 by purchasing the assets of Agroindustrial Mimesa (a pasta and flour business) in Maracaibo. In the ensuing years, we expanded our business through both acquisitions and organic growth in the following areas: Oilseed processing, grain and oilseeds trading, animal feed, salt, and financial and risk management. Today, our business in Venezuela is mainly focused around our food sector. We have approximately 2,000 employees spread among 18 locations across Venezuela:

• 2 offices in Caracas (Foods and Animal Nutrition)
• 11 manufacturing plants: Barquisimeto, Cabimas, Catia, Catia La Mar, La Encrucijada, Valencia, Acarigua, Coropo and 3 in the Maracaibo area
• 5 commercial branches: Barquisimeto, Caracas, Maracaibo, San Cristobal and Turmero. We manufacture a number of branded products, as well as product ingredients, and distribute them through our own distribution network

Cargill’s branded products include:

• Edible oil – Vatel, El Rey, Deleite, Branca
• Pasta – Ronco, MiMesa, Milani, Fiorentina
• Flour – Blancaflor, MiMesa
• Industrial flour – Rey del Norte, Flor de Guayana
• Rice – Santa Ana Parboiled
• Fruit juice – Tropimax.
• Animal Nutrition – Cargill owns the Purina brand of animal feed products for swine, dairy, cattle, poultry, horses, turkey, and shrimp, and produces Dogui, Gati and Robustin for cats and dogs.

In Venezuela, Cargill also conducts activities in:

• Grain and oilseed trading/marketing
• Financial and risk management
• Salt

Cargill investments in Venezuela 

• Acquired Molinarca (Wheat mill and flour plant)
• Acquired Agribrands Purina (Animal Nutrition)
• Acquired Gramoven (Wheat mill, flour and pasta plant)
• Acquired Halaca and Favepro (Originally flour plants, which were dismantled to build our pet foods plant.)
• Produsal (Salt production facility) joint venture agreement with Petroquímica de Venezuela “Pequiven” — (Cargill acquired 70 percent)
• Acquired Santa Ana rice plant
• Valencia oil processing plant acquired through asset swap agreement with Mavesa