At a meeting with Argentina's President, Cargill made public two investment projects for a total of 112 million dollars.

The announcement made by Cargill Argentina's President, Hugo Krajnc, at a meeting held today at the Presidential Residence, with the presence of Government Ministers and Secretaries, refers to the construction of an 18 Mw energy co-generation plant and a biodiesel production plant to be originated from soybean oil, with a processing capacity of 240,000 tons per year.

Both plants will be ready to start operating in September 2011, and as expressed by Mr. Krajnc: "... the fact that these investments are made in our country within an international context of economic and financial uncertainty, reinforces once again Cargill's commitment to the development of agribusiness industry in Argentina, as it has been shown since it was established in our country back in 1947..."

He also stated that: "... both projects clearly ratify Cargill's confidence in the potential of the Argentine agribusiness industry and the role of our country in the international trade, demonstrated by over 500 million dollars investments made by Cargill in the period 2004-2009, through the building of new processing plants and ports as well as joint ventures with highly renowned local enterprises, all of these focused on adding value to the national agribusiness production, thus improving Argentina's competitiveness in the international market..."

Both new projects announced will be developed at Cargill's oilseeds processing plant located in Villa Gobernador Gálvez (Santa Fe), which together with the port terminals that form part of the installations, constitute Cargill's largest soybean processing complex in the world.

During the announcement it was also emphasized that the investment in goods, machinery, equipments and services of local origin, represent 77% of the total investment amount, and that during the construction period, both projects will demand an average monthly workforce of 370 people.

The biodiesel production to be obtained from this project, equivalent to 30% of the soybean oil produced by Cargill at Villa Gobernador Gálvez's complex, will be destined to both the domestic and international markets. In turn, the 18Mw to be generated by the energy co-generation plant will allow other users of the energy system to make use of the energy Cargill will not be consuming.

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