Global agribusiness giant Bunge has agreed to sell its oilseed processing business in Russia to Karen Vanetsyan, the controlling shareholder of Exoil Group, the company announced on 19 September.
Bunge said the sale, which is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval, included the company’s sunflower processing plant in Voronezh.
“We are grateful to the team for continuing to deliver essential food and feed in this challenging environment. With Karen Vanetsyan’s more than 25 years’ of experience in agricultural processing, we are confident the team will continue to successfully serve customers,” Bunge CEO Greg Heckman said.
Bunge did not reveal financial details about the deal, according to a Reuters report on 19 September, and the Exoil Group did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Bunge and other major US agribusinesses had started scaling back their Russian operations following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, World Grain wrote on 20 September.
The 540,000 tonnes/year Voronezh plant opened in 2008 and could produce more than 200M bottles of sunflower oil, according to the report.
