February 21, 2016

After conducting a review of its grain and oilseed business in Central and Eastern Europe, Cargill Inc. announced it is exiting the crop inputs business in the region by the end of May 2016.

The affected markets will be Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Poland, and should affect approximately 180 employees, however Cargill will still focus on grain and oilseed origination, merchandizing, and trading in these countries.

In the face of the continued drop in commodity prices, Cargill is in the process of restructuring in order to make the company more responsive to volatile markets. However, as Cargill makes the announcement to exit the inputs segment, it is also targeting the strengthening of its origination and business footprint with a goal of increasing origination volumes and market share.

The company states that the region remains marked as a region for strategic growth, and that it plans to strengthen its existing investments and operations including its terminals and oilseed crushing plants, but that the move to exit from agricultural inputs was necessary as the company explains in a statement, it  “has been unable to realize many of the expected synergies between origination and crop inputs.”

Reuters reports that this decision is the last in a recent string of moves to streamline the company. In December, Cargill announced that it is selling its crop insurance unit, and last month announced that it was closing its London shipping office. Despite these changes, the company will continue to sell crop inputs in other global markets including the U.S., and in Canada through Cargill AgHorizons.