Bunge relocates factory from Bulgaria to Romania

Bunge, the leader of the vegetable oil market in Romania, will close its Kaliakra oil plant in Bulgaria and relocate its entire production to Romania, despite initially announcing that it would relocate to Ukraine or Hungary, according to information surfacing in Bulgaria. “No decision has been made so far. We are at a consulting stage,” said Michael Whitney, general manager of Bunge Romania. According to Tsvetan Iliev, general manager of the production centre in Dobrici, quoted by the Sofia-based news agency Novinite, Bunge will only keep its cereal production facility in Bulgaria, with the decision to relocate the plant being prompted by the unsatisfactory financial results witnessed at the plant in Bulgaria, by the limited opportunities of the market, and by the environmental standards, which do not comply with the European norms. Bunge acquired the Kaliakra oil brand in Bulgaria in 2002, the same year that the producer entered the Romanian market through the acquisition of Iasi-based Cerealcom, the owner of Iasi-based Unirea.