Brazil Sugar Industry Awarded $60 million loan

(Brasilia, October 17, 2012).- CAF, development bank of Latin America, awarded $35 million to Brazilian company S.A. Usina Coruripe Açúcar e Álcool, one of the biggest sugar and ethanol producers in the South American nation. The approved funds come on top of another $25 million granted in a joint financing operation together with Credit Suisse.

Paz-Estenssoro, CAF representative in Brazil, said companies have to become engines for integration and sustainable development in Brazil.

“As part of its global agenda for sustainable development, CAF encourages strengthening companies as an effective way for contributing to improved productivity in Latin America,” she said.

CAF supports the productive sector through joint financing operations along with other private, public or multilateral financial institutions –like Credit Suisse in this case– as well as through other channels employed to further its goals.

“Brazil is the biggest sugar exporter on a global scale with over 40% of market share, and agroindustry products represent more than 20% of local exports, hence the importance of this operation to support a private company, with almost 90 years in business and a market leader” said Paz-Estenssoro, CAF director in the country.”

Usina Coruripe Açúcar e Álcool is a private, family-owned company that has evolved into one of the most important in Brazil. Its three production centers turn out 20 million bags of sugar and 500 million liters (132 million gallons) of alcohol. The company has storage capacity for 9,2 million bags of sugar and 203 million liters (53.6 million gallons) of alcohol. Usinas Coruripe employs 7,000 workers and has created 35,000 indirect jobs.