Business & Money | Thursday 16 April, 2015 12:41 am |

Saudi Agricultural and Livestock Investment Company (SALIC) and Bunge, a leading global agribusiness and food company, today announced that their newly formed Canadian joint venture had invested C$250 million (around SAR 750 million) in prestigious Canadian wheat and barley marketing organization CWB.

G3 Global Grain Group (G3), the new joint venture, is based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. G3’s investment makes it the majority owner with 50.1 percent of CWB, and the remaining 49.9 percent is held in a trust that will work to benefit the farmers.

G3 was established through SALIC’s and Bunge’s Canadian subsidiaries. G3’s formation and its success in acquiring the CWB stake were announced at a press conference this morning in Winnipeg, attended by Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Gerry Ritz, G3’s CEO Karl Gerrand and CWB’s CEO Ian White.

“Canada is poised to play an increasing role in providing food to a growing world population and in capturing a larger share of the international market demand,” says Abdullah Al-Rubaian, Chairman, SALIC. “SALIC is committed to infrastructure investment in countries such as Canada, which are exporters of surplus supplies of high quality grain. The launch of G3 will enable us to invest in infrastructure across Canada, providing more market choices for Canadian producers. We are committed to G3’s growth strategy and are excited to work with Bunge, CWB, and the Canadian farming community.”

SALIC launched operations in 2012 with a strong and broad mandate to invest profitably in agricultural, livestock and associated value chains around the world.  SALIC has been actively pursuing investment opportunities in countries that welcome foreign investment and have significant agricultural resources.

The establishment of G3 and its investment in CWB are mutually beneficial for Canada and Saudi Arabia, and Bunge and SALIC. “Canada is a major wheat grower and exporter, and Saudi Arabia relies on imports to meet its growing demand for food. Both SALIC and Bunge are committed to strengthen grain off-take and export capabilities in Canada, ultimately benefitting the Canadian farmer and grain exports on the one hand, and Saudi Arabia and other importing nations on the other,” says Al-Rubaian.

Abdullah Aldubaikhi, CEO, SALIC says: “G3, our Canadian joint venture, considerably strengthens SALIC’s position as a global agribusiness investor. The CWB investment opportunity offered an excellent strategic fit with SALIC’s global agribusiness investment plans, and we are extremely happy and proud that G3 has been chosen as the strategic investor in CWB.”

He noted that CWB owns and operates a significant network of strategic grain-handling assets in Canada. It includes seven grain elevators in Western Canada and port terminals in Thunder Bay, Ontario and Trois Rivieres, Quebec. CWB is building four additional state-of-the-art grain handling facilities in Bloom and Ste. Adolphe, Manitoba, and Colonsay and Pasqua, Saskatchewan. Bunge’s export terminal in Quebec City as well as four elevators in Quebec will be part of the transaction announced today.

Karl Gerrand, CEO, G3 says: “It is a dynamic time for Canadian agriculture. As global demand for agri-products grows, consumers continue to demand the high quality grain produced by our Canadian farmers,” says Karl Gerrand, CEO, G3. “Our vision is to establish a highly efficient coast-to-coast Canadian grain enterprise that provides stronger market access solutions for growers and delivers value to our stakeholders and the Canadian agriculture industry as a whole. We welcome the CWB team and farmer equity owners, and look forward to working together to build a new and dynamic company.”