The building of a silo in Romania is a surprising move from the trader, considering it spent the last three years buying such facilities. Seven months ago, it bought a 12,000-ton silo in Biled, Timis County, close to the Hungarian border and paid EUR2.8 million for it. It had previously bought two silos in Giurgiu (south of the country) from Avicola Buzau’s shareholders.
The capacity of the silo the trader will build in Moldova Noua, Caras Severin County, will be of 20,000 to 25,000 tons, according to data available on the market. None of the trader’s rivals has a presence in this county.
The silo Alfred Toepfer is building in Moldova Noua is part of a giant investment plan announced by Archer Daniels Midland, a company which owns 80% in the trader, last August.
The plan entails expansion of the local silo network to 16 units, by building several silos by the Danube, an export terminal in Constanta harbor and the acquisition of a fleet of barges.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)