“The silo ensures vertical storage of grain and is composed of nine metallic cells (…),” reads the application the company filed with the National Environment Protection Agency (ANPM).
Once built, the facility will have access to the Danube and will be near Santierul Naval Carsinav (Carsinav Shipyard) and wiring manufacturer Sarme si Cabluri Harsova.
Toepfer already has a 31,000 ton storage facility in Harsova, which it is renting from Swiss-owned Ameropa, one of its local rivals. The contract expires next July, industry sources said.
Alfred Toepfer, which is controlled by US’ ADM, announced a development plan for Romania more than two years ago that includes a building a network of silos by the Danube and a terminal in Constanta Harbor. Toepfer has 12 silos in Romania at the moment, a joint-venture export terminal and a fleet of barges.
Access to shipping on the Danube and presence in the Constanta Harbor are strategic advantages for any grain trader, because they enable cost savings from logistics operations and the capability to deliver faster to destinations abroad.
Toepfer, Bunge and Ameropa delivered most of the 800,000 tons of Romanian wheat exported to Egypt.
US-held rival Cargill, too, announced a EUR15 million investment in expanding a terminal in Constanta Harbor three months ago.
The total grain storage capacity in Romania is 17.4 million tons. Major Romanian (Comcereal Dolj, Comcereal Vaslui and InterAgro) and foreign (Glencore, Ameropa, Cargill etc.) grain traders own most of the capacity.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)