Olam expanding footprint in Brazil
LONDON: Olam International Ltd, one of the world’s largest food traders, is expanding its presence in Brazil, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Singapore-based company had started trading grains in the South American country after hiring Catia Jorge from Cargill Inc.
Danilo Caprara, an Olam trader who had previously been sent to London from Brazil, has returned to Sao Paulo to focus on white-sugar.
Olam first entered Brazil, the world’s largest producer of sugar, coffee and orange juice, in 2002. The company’s trading in Latin America’s largest economy started with cashew nuts. It also handles coffee, cotton, spices and sesame.
While Olam is better known for its involvement in soft-commodity markets such as coffee and cocoa, grains trading is becoming important.
The company became active in the grains market in 2008 and its focus has been mostly on the Black Sea region and Africa.
Olam hired Carl Desjardins this year from what was then Grupo BTG Pactual’s commodity unit to lead its grains team in Switzerland.
Olam’s sugar business hired Toby Chamberlain from Louis Dreyfus Co as vice-president of white-sugar trading. At the time, Chris Thompson, Olam’s senior vice-president of sugar, said the company continued to build its white sugar business. Bloomberg