DECATUR, ILLINOIS, U.S. — Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) on Nov. 2 announced that it will construct a second biodiesel plant in Brazil. The facility, to be built in Joaçaba, Santa Catarina, Brazil, will be adjacent to existing ADM soybean crushing and refining facilities. With an annual biodiesel production capacity of 164,000 tonnes, the plant will increase ADM’s biodiesel capacity in Brazil by more than 50%. 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 Joaçaba soy operations, we’re able to leverage our origination, transportation and processing assets."

The Joaçaba 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 tonnes of soybeans and can refine approximately 73,000 tonnes of soybean oil annually. Once the biodiesel plant is operational, the facility is expected to increase the oil refinery capacity to nearly 110,000 tonnes 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 Joaçaba biodiesel plant and our facility in Rondonópolis, 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 began operations in Brazil in 1997, after purchasing soybean processing plants in Rondonópolis, Campo Grande, Joaçaba, Três Passos and Paranaguá. In 2002, ADM opened a fertilizer blending facility in Rondonópolis, and in 2007, the company began biodiesel production in Rondonópolis.

Today, 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% 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.