Sugar Makers Bunge to Sao Martinho Try Biotech: Corporate Brazil
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Sugar-cane growers from Bunge Ltd. to Sao Martinho SA propose building plants in Brazil to convert crops into chemicals for products as varied as face cream and industrial lubricants.
A joint venture between Bunge and U.S. biotechnology company Solazyme Inc. will start late next year to produce oils from sugar. Cane grower Paraiso Bioenergia SA will open the first plant in Brazil by year-end with Emeryville, California-based Amyris Inc. to make raw materials including a substitute for shark liver oil used in lotions. Sao Martinho and ETH Bioenergia SA are planning similar facilities within the next two years.