FoodBev Media’s Phoebe Fraser rounds up this week’s food and beverage news, including:
Bunge and Glencore-owned Viterra have confirmed that they will merge businesses in an deal valued at $8.2 billion.
The merger of Bunge and Viterra will create a global agribusiness company that is able to meet the demands of “increasingly complex markets,” to better serve farmers and end-customers.
The two merged organisations will benefit from more diversified capabilities, greater operational flexibility across oilseed and grain supply chains and processing, and increased resources.
A huge dam in the Russian-controlled area of southern Ukraine has been destroyed, unleashing a flood. Ukraine’s military and Nato have accused Russia of blowing up the dam, while Russia has blamed Ukraine.
Destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant will become the biggest problem in the agriculture of southern Ukraine, said Ukraine’s minister of agrarian policy and food, Mykola Solskyi.
The Kakhovka canal supplies water to more than half a million hectares of land, according to Solskyi. The irrigation problem is set to significantly impact agriculture as well as the environmental and social spheres in the south of Ukraine.
McCownGordon is working with US supermarket giant Walmart to design and build a 330,000-square-foot high-volume case-ready beef facility in Kansas.
McCownGordon is leading the design and construction of the new facility in Olathe, Kansas, in collaboration with ESI Design Services – a construction company committed to building sustainable food facilities across the US. The new facility is the result of a $257 million investment by Walmart.
The project is expected to break ground later this year and will create over 1,000 design, fabrication and construction jobs. The site is set for completion in 2025.
Unilever has announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire US-based premium frozen Greek yogurt brand, Yasso.
Yasso – founded in Boston in 2009 – is a major player in the high-quality, low-calorie indulgent frozen snack market in the US.
Unilever says the acquisition is aligned with its premiumisation strategy, and joins other premium brands in the portfolio, including Ben & Jerry’s, Magnum and Talenti.
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