Yara to invest $275 M in Brazil plant

Oslo—Yara International ASA said April 11 that it will invest approximately US$275 million in expanding and modernizing its Rio Grande plant, which is strategically located in southern Brazil, a key region in the country’s growing agricultural industry. Set for completion in 2020, Yara said the investment will create one of the biggest and most modern fertilizer sites in the Americas. “This expansion represents another step in our Brazil growth strategy, further establishing our position in Brazil as a long-term industry player, committed to developing and investing in Brazilian agribusiness,” said Svein Tore Holsether, Yara president and CEO. “The project is possible thanks to the acquisition of Bunge Fertilizantes in 2013, creating further consolidation synergies through optimization, automation, and de-bottlenecking of the combined assets.” The expansion project will double the site’s current 800,000 mt annual fertilizer production and blending capacity and provide customers with increased access to Yara’s premium products, thereby reducing reliance on finished fertilizer imports. It will also improve health, environment, safety, and quality performance, including substantially lower emissions than required by legislation. The scope includes new warehouses, new acidulation and granulation lines, fully automated blending and bagging equipment for small (50 kg) and big (1 mt) bags, a boiler for steam production, a wastewater treatment plant, and rest areas for truck drivers. The plant already operates its own recently modernized and expanded pier, which is connected to the railway network and the industrial complex. The facility is expected to create over a thousand direct and a further three-to-four-thousand indirect employment opportunities, boosting the region’s economy. The investment follows approximately US$1.5 billion of expansions and acquisitions carried out by Yara in Brazil in recent years, including the Bunge (2013) and Galvani (2014) acquisitions, and the recent construction of modern blending and bagging terminals in Sumaré and Porto Alegre.