After Bunge reported a Q3 loss in part from disappointing sugar milling results, the company indicated it could sell its Brazilian sugar operations. The company’s Brazilian sugar milling operation has continued to struggle amid adverse weather, low global sugar prices, rising costs, and capped ethanol prices. As a result, Bunge leadership has stated that they will be active in finding better ways to position themselves. Bunge began trading sugar in 2006 and bought its first Brazilian mill in 2007. In 2010 the company purchased five additional mills controlling hundreds of thousands of acres of plantations. That same year Brazil suffered a terrible drought and Bunge’s Brazilian sugar operations have been struggling since. For the quarter ending September 30, Bunge’s sugar and bioenergy division experienced a total loss of $120 million compared to a profit of $297 million a year before.
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