Argentina to take over soybean crusher Vicentin

Sao Paulo — Argentina's government will intervene and expropriate Vicentin, one of the country's largest soybean crushers, said President Alberto Fernandez on June 8.

Family-owned Vicentin started facing severe financial issues in 2019, and has accumulated more than $1 billion in debt, according to local press.

"We have organized a series of measures with the purpose to recover the company, that is a leader in Argentinian agribusiness, so the company can keep operating and workers can keep their jobs," said Fernandez in a broadcast press conference in Buenos Aires.

"Around 2,600 local producers can still count on a company that will be able to trade their production," he added.

President Fernandez said his administration will send a bill to the Congress so the expropriation can happen.

"The plan still needs to go through the Congress, so it will be a long story," one local broker told S&P Global Platts.

The announcement happens even with private companies interested in acquiring Vicentin operations, according to local sources.

Together with Glencore, Vicentin has a stake in Renova, one of the world's top facilities for crushing soy, with 20,000 mt of daily crushing capacity.

Vicentin did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comments by Platts.