Archer Daniels Midland has announced that it will construct a second biodiesel plant in Brazil. The facility, to be built in Joacaba, Santa Catarina, will be adjacent to existing ADM soybean crushing and refining facilities.

With an annual biodiesel production capacity of 164,000 metric tons, the plant will increase ADM's biodiesel capacity in Brazil by more than 50 percent. Construction will begin in March of 2011 and is expected to be completed during the first half of 2012.

"We see exciting opportunities for ADM within the Brazilian biodiesel industry. With strong support from the government, biodiesel is poised to play an increasing role in meeting Brazil's growing demand for renewable fuels," said Patricia Woertz, chairman, chief executive officer and president of ADM.

"By locating the plant adjacent to our Joacaba soy operations, we're able to leverage our origination, transportation and processing assets."

The Joacaba biodiesel plant will be constructed next to ADM's soybean crushing facility and vegetable oil refinery.

Acquired from Sadia in 1998, these operations can currently process nearly 475,000 metric tons of soybeans and can refine approximately 73,000 metric tons of soybean oil annually. Once the biodiesel plant is operational, the facility is expected to increase the oil refinery capacity to nearly 110,000 metric tons per year.

"Brazil has been a global leader in creating a robust domestic renewable fuels industry that supports both social and environmental goals. And the recent implementation of 5 percent biodiesel blends in 2010 - three years ahead of schedule-- demand for biodiesel in Brazil continues to grow," said Domingo Lastra, president of ADM do Brasil Ltda.

"With the Joacaba biodiesel plant and our facility in Rondonopolis, ADM will play an important role in meeting that demand."

This will be the first biodiesel plant in the state of Santa Catarina, which boasts an ample supply of soybeans produced mainly by small family farms.

ADM in Brazil
ADM began operations in Brazil in 1997, after purchasing soybean processing plants in Rondonopolis, Campo Grande, Joacaba, Tres Passos and Paranagua. In 2002, ADM opened a fertilizer blending facility in Rondonopolis, and in 2007, the company began biodiesel production in Rondonopolis.

ADM has more than 3,000 employees in Brazil and is the largest domestic meal supplier, second largest soybean crusher and second largest producer of bottled oil, with 21 percent of Brazil's bottled oil market. The company is also the largest soybean meal exporter, the second largest exporter of soybeans and the Brazilian economy's fifth largest exporter.

ADM owns or leases grain elevators in seven states, including 20 in Mato Grosso, five in Mato Grosso do Sul, six in Goias, eight in Minas Gerais, one in Brasilia, one in Bahia and two in Sao Paulo.

In addition to five soybean processing facilities and its Rondonopolis biodiesel plant, ADM also operates a cocoa processing facility in Ilheus, Bahia, and three fertilizer blending plants - one in Catalao, one in Paranagua and one in Rondonopolis.

ADM has a partnership with Alianca Da Terra, a leading advocate for sustainability, to encourage Brazilian soy growers to adopt sustainable farming practices, and is a member of the Roundtable on Responsible Palm Oil, which works to promote the growth and use of sustainable palm oil.