ADM looks to buy Argentina soy crusher Molinos Agro

Archer Daniels Midland Co. (ADM) has approached Argentina-based soy crusher Molinos Agro about buying its livestock feed and soy oil manufacturing plant, according to a Reuters report. A spokesman for the Perez Companc business group, which controls Molinos Agro, said the company has been approached several times by potential buyers and the offers were rejected. But Reuters reported that discussions between ADM and Molinos Agro began last year and then stalled over the price.Trade tensions between the U.S. and China have given U.S. soy crushing companies a competitive advantage over Argentina’s. Argentine soy crushers are working at half capacity, and U.S. soy crushers are benefiting from low soy prices as a result of China’s tariffs on U.S. soybeans. As U.S. soy prices go down, profits for U.S. soy processors go up.