SÃO PAULO — Cargill has acquired full ownership of the soybean oil crushing, refining and bottling plant that it has operated since 1998 through a lease agreement in Barreiras, Bahia, Brazil, advancing its operations in the world’s largest soybean producing and exporting country.

The Barreiras facility employs 250 people and produces soybean meal (bulk and bagged), pelletized soybean hulls, degummed oil and refined oil (bulk and bottled) under the Liza brand. Financial terms were not disclosed in the June 17 announcement.

“We are very pleased with the acquisition of the Barreiras plant,” said Paulo Sousa, president of Cargill in Brazil and of the Agricultural Business in Latin America. “The initiative is in line with our growth strategy and strengthens our operations in the region, allowing us to continue investing to serve both our customers in the domestic market and those in the global soybean meal market.”

Over the past five years, Cargill said it has invested R$8.1 billion ($1.5 billion) in its Brazil operations, which has 29 factories, 75 warehouses, seven port terminals, two innovation centers, a shared services center, five distribution centers, 14 commercial offices and four corporate offices.

In May, Cargill won an auction for a 35-year lease at the port terminal in Paranaguá with a winning bid of $72.4 million.

In February, the company acquired the remaining 50% of the shares of SJC Bioenergia, consolidating 100% control of the company — now renamed Cargill Bioenergia — with units in Quirinópolis and Cachoeira Dourada.

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