June 2, 2010
Russian feed supplier secures finances for new soy plant
Sodrugestvo Group, Russia's largest supplier of feed ingredients, is to receive US$40 million in loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) towards working capital for its soy crushing operation.
Besides borrowing US$25 million over three years from EBRD, the group has also secured a seven-year loan of US$15 million for a transport subsidiary to purchase up to 500 railway wagons to carry finished products, such as soymeal, to customers and to bring rapeseed for crushing.
The company plans to start local sourcing of up to 50,000 tonnes of rapeseed per year for processing at its recently-opened crushing plant in Russia's westernmost port, Kaliningrad. It also intends to use its Kaliningrad port facilities for exporting about 150,000 tonnes of grain per year as well as 100,000 tonnes of sugarbeet and 50,000 tonnes of rapeseed.