A Dutch subsidiary of Bunge Limited, an international agribusiness and food company headquartered in White Plains, will form a joint venture with a subsidiary of the Bahri Group, the national shipping arm of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to supply ocean freight transportation for dry bulk goods shipped to and from the Middle East.
Bahri Dry Bulk Co. and Koninklijke Bunge B.V. will operate as Bunge Bahri Dry Bulk Ltd. and provide services for regional and other international customers, the companies announced today. The company, which will be registered and based in Dubai, plans to ship more than 5 million metric tons of goods in its first year and about 14 million metric tons by 2020 and expand into global markets.
The Saudi Arabian partner will own 60 percent and Bunge will have a 40 percent share of the joint venture. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Brian Thomsen, managing director of Bunge Global Agribusiness and CEO of Bunge Product Lines, in the announcement said the White Plains-based company expects the joint venture “to become a carrier of choice for customers importing grains and other agricultural commodities in the Middle East, as well as for dry bulk exports outside of the region. The (joint venture) combines Bunge’s expertise in providing freight services and risk management with BDB’s unique knowledge of Middle Eastern customers and their needs to address growing demand in the region.”
The new company initially will charter and commercially operate dry-bulk vessels from the fleet currently owned or managed by Bahri Dry Bulk and subsequently from third parties.
Headquartered at 50 Main St. in White Plains, Bunge Ltd. operates in more than 40 countries with approximately 32,000 employees. The agribusiness was founded in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in 1818.
