Japanese Trading House Marubeni to Close Its Australian Grain Business

Although the unit has made a profit for the past three years, Marubeni Australia’s managing director, Makoto Kajitani, confirmed that the company is closing its Australian grain business due to shifts in the company’s global grain strategy. Marubeni acquired the Australian business in 2012 after its $5.6 billion acquisition of U.S.-based grain company, Gavilon. Marubeni has been a smaller but still important player in the country’s grain sector, with some in the industry estimating that Marubeni likely accumulated less than 250,000 tons of grain per year, however, the group had close working ties with the Australian feeder industry on the east coast. The exit comes as competition in the country’s grain sector is intensifying and as global players position themselves to gain market share as demand increases in Asia.