Facility to capitalize on surging oilseed
demand from green energy economy
MINNEAPOLIS,
Minn., May 25, 2021
/CNW/ - Ceres Global Ag Corp. (TSX: CRP) ("Ceres Global" or
the "Company"), a global agricultural, energy and industrial
products merchandizing and supply chain company, announced plans
today to build a $350 million
integrated canola processing facility in Northgate, Saskatchewan, to help meet the current and
growing global demand for canola products. The state-of-the-art
facility will have capacity to process 1.1 million metric tons of
canola and refine over 500 thousand metric tons of canola oil, for
both food and fuel, annually.
"This is an exciting time for Ceres Global as we position
ourselves to take advantage of the unprecedented demand for oilseed
crush in North America," said Mr.
Robert Day, President and Chief
Executive Officer at Ceres. "While there are multiple drivers
contributing to this demand, the most important is the movement
towards green energy and the need for vegetable oil as feedstock
for the production of renewable diesel. We have been analyzing
canola crush at Northgate for several years as its location along
the Canada-U.S. border is ideally
located to originate canola seed from our farmer partners, and with
a direct connection to BNSF Railway, it provides the most efficient
access to the U.S. market and U.S. ports. Our Northgate facility
includes a 2.7 million bushel shuttle loading grain elevator and
two 120-car loop tracks, providing 'construction-ready'
infrastructure and shortening the timeline to complete this
project."
The facility is expected to be operational by summer 2024 and is
expected to result in the creation of over 50 full time jobs in
Saskatchewan, which is the largest
canola producing province in Canada.
Commenting on the project, the Honourable Scott Moe, Premier of
Saskatchewan, said: "Adding value
to agriculture products right here in Saskatchewan will help us reach the goals set
out in our Growth Plan. We welcome Ceres Global's investment in
Northgate to support and provide southeast Saskatchewan growers with a unique and
valuable option for marketing their canola. With its direct
connection to the BNSF railroad, Ceres can offer Saskatchewan growers access to a variety of
markets in the United States."
Jim Titsworth, Director of
Agricultural Development from BNSF Railway said: "Demand for
renewable diesel feedstocks is rapidly growing. The BNSF network is
ideally suited to supply the production, processing and
distribution of these feedstocks. A crush plant at Northgate, SK
will provide an important source of canola oil to meet the growing
demand. Northgate has a unique location, both in Canada's canola growing region and with direct
rail access to the major renewable diesel and food processing
markets via BNSF's network. This allows Ceres-produced canola oil
to have an advantage in this rapidly growing marketplace. That same
network also results in advantaged animal feed market access for
canola meal. BNSF is excited to add this facility to its growing
customer investments in the renewable diesel market."
City of Estevan, SK Mayor,
Roy Ludwig added: "The on-going
partnership with Ceres has been great for the community of
Estevan and surrounding Rural
Municipalities. As Estevan's
Canola Crush facility, we are excited that Northgate will support
families for years to come with added jobs and grain delivered to a
premium market."
Ceres Global, along with shareholders, VN Capital Management,
Highbridge Capital Management and Whitebox Advisors, are engaged in
discussions with other interested financial and industry players to
fund the project.
About Ceres Global Ag Corp. (ceresglobalagcorp.com)
Ceres and its subsidiaries ("Ceres Global") add value across
agricultural, energy and industrial supply chains through efficient
sourcing, storing, transporting and marketing of high-quality
agricultural commodities, value-added products and raw materials.
Leveraging its network of commodity logistics centers and team of
industry experts, Ceres Global connects farmers to customers around
the world.
Ceres Global is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and together with its
affiliated companies, operates 13 locations across Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Minnesota. These facilities have an aggregate
grain and oilseed storage capacity of approximately 32 million
bushels.
Ceres Global has a 50% interest in Savage Riverport, LLC (a
joint venture with Consolidated Grain and Barge Co.), a 50%
interest in Farmers Grain, LLC (a joint venture with Farmer's
Cooperative Grain and Seed Association), a 50% in Gateway Energy
Terminal (an unincorporated joint venture with Steel Reef
Infrastructure Corp.), a 25% interest in Stewart Southern Railway
Inc. (a short-line railway located in southeast Saskatchewan with a range of 130 kilometers),
and a 17% interest in Canterra Seed Holdings Ltd. (a Canada-based seed development company).
For more information about Ceres Global, please visit
www.ceresglobalagcorp.com
Cautionary Notice: This news release contains
"forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable
Canadian securities legislation and United States securities laws. Forward-looking
information may include but is not limited to, statements regarding
the timing and completion of the Private Placement and the proposed
use of proceeds. Generally, forward-looking information can be
identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as
"expects," "intends," "anticipates," "believes" or variations of
such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events
or results "may," "could," "would" or "might," "be taken," "occur"
or "be achieved." Forward-looking information is based on the
opinions and estimates of management at the date the information is
made and is based on a number of assumptions and subject to a
variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could
cause actual events or results to differ materially from those
projected in the forward-looking information. There can be no
assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be
accurate, as actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such information. Ceres
undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if
circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change,
except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is
cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking
information.
SOURCE Ceres Global Ag Corp.