Nutrien Ltd. on June 29 announced an agreement to acquire Marca Agro Mercantil, an agricultural inputs retailer that has been operating in Minas Gerais in Brazil for 17 years, operating in 67 municipalities, with seven stores in the regions of Triângulo, Alto Paranaíba, and Sudoeste Mineiro, and access to more than 1,700 customers.
After approval by the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE), Nutrien said it will have 26 commercial units, including stores and experience centers, distributed throughout the state, and a fertilizer mixer in Araxá, in addition to 160 specialized consultants working in Minas Gerais.
“We are focused on increasing our operations in the most important regions for Brazilian agriculture and serving farmers with products, services and solutions to make them even more sustainable,” said André Dias, Nutrien’s President for Latin America. “The Agro Mercantil brand has an important presence in Triângulo Mineiro, one of the main agricultural regions in a state where we already have operations, bringing opportunities and synergies to our business and increasing our customer base. This acquisition allows us to have greater capillarity in the field to provide integrated and individualized solutions that promote the success of the Minas Gerais producer.”
While Nutrien did not report the terms of the Marca Agro deal, it has said it planned to spend R$600 million in 2022 on Brazil expansion (GM Dec. 17, 2021).
In Brazil, Nutrien Soluções Agrícolas is also present in the states of São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Tocantins, and Goiás, with 58 total commercial units, including stores and experience centers, two seed processing units, four fertilizer mixers, one nutritional factory, and more than 400 specialized consultants. The company has more than 1,500 employees.