Glencore is uniting all of its agriculture operations around the world under the name of its Canadian-based grain business.
Glencore Agriculture will be known as Viterra as of later this year, says CEO David Mattiske.
“Viterra is a globally recognized brand within the business. It also has a deep connection to agriculture, with Viterra meaning vitality from the earth,” he says, in a statement. “This is an opportunity to unite our business under one brand with a shared purpose and identity.”
Glencore Agriculture has operations in 35 countries, and owns more than 30 processing and refining facilities, dealing in grains, oilseeds, pulses, sugar and cotton.
“We are planning for a smooth transition to the new brand over the coming months, while for employees and customers it’s business as usual,” continues Mattiske.
Viterra’s roots go back to the wheat pool days of the Canadian Prairies, as the name was originally chosen following the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool acquisition of Agricore United (which evolved out of the Alberta Wheat Pool, Manitoba Pool, and United Grain Growers) in 2007.
Glencore, a Switzerland-based commodity trading and mining company, then acquired Viterra in 2012. In 2016, Glencore sold a 40 per cent stake in its agriculture business to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and another 9.99 per cent stake to the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCIMC).