NutraCea expands processing into South America
that it is to buy the largest rice bran oil processing facility in
South America, located in Brazil.
The transaction, to be completed by the end of this month, will allow the company to produce an initial 70,000 tons of rice bran oil annually, The company, which has so far focused on its stabilized rice bran activities, hopes to move into the edible oils market and the transaction will give it a local base for distributing its proprietary products in South America, said the company. The announcement follows hot on the heels of an alliance to construct a new flour mill in Indonesia that will incorporate the firm's new stabilised wheat bran technology. According to the company, the construction of the first full-scale wheat stabilization facility in Indonesia will be a move to validating the technology, and promote its widespread use to convert wheat bran into a food ingredient. As part of the new agreement in South America, NutaCea will supply of raw rice bran to several local mills, all of which will be used to produce rice bran oil. "This acquisition also provides a platform for the introduction of new, value-added products that NutraCea has been internally preparing to roll out, pending the procurement of additional amounts of bran, which this project provides a significant step towards accomplishing," stated the company. Products from the Brazilian plant will be sold in Brazil, neighbouring South American countries and exported throughout the world, added the company. "The consumer trend away from trans fatty acids and the global demand for more healthful choices in edible oils has helped to drive rice bran oil prices higher. With the purchase of this new facility, we are poised to take advantage of the growing worldwide demand for healthy, edible oil and create new, patented and proprietary value-added derivatives from rice bran, utilizing technologies developed at NutraCea," said Leo Gingras, COO of NutraCea. "As we have stated in the past, the establishment of our facilities in the major, rice-growing regions around the world is essential to our long-term, strategic growth plan. We believe our Brazilian facility will provide NutraCea with the opportunity for increasing revenues going forward, not just for stabilized rice bran, but also for healthful edible oils and value-added products derived from the rice bran and oil," added Brad Edson, president and CEO of NutraCea
