Japan's Itochu Now Producing and Selling Bioethanol in Brazil

Itochu and New York- based Bunge Limited have started a joint venture company that is now producing and selling bioethanol in Brazil.
 
The Itochu- Bunge Limited joint venture, Pedro Afonso Acucar e Bioenergia S.A., is located in Tocantins in northern Brazil.
 
Itochu holds 20 percent of the shares in the joint venture through its wholly owned Tokyo subsidiary JB BioEnergy, with Bunge Limited owning the remaining 80 percent, Japan Corporate News Network reported.
 
Itochu is also establishing bioethanol production and sales operations with Bunge in Minas Gerais in southeastern Brazil, the country's second most populous and the second richest state at the same investment rate, with a total investment in the two projects of approximately $800 million.
 
Pedro Afonso Acucar e Bioenergia S.A began constructing its first plant in Tocantins in January 2009, which was completed in July 2010. After the successful completion of trial operations, the Tocantins plant began operating at almost full capacity in May 2011. Although the annual processing capacity of sugar cane at the Pedro Afonso Acucar e Bioenergia S.A mill is currently 2.5 million tons per year, the joint venture partners hope to be able to expand the Tocantins facility's output to 4.4 million tons annually.
 
By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com