Agrium is set to take over more than 230 of Viterra’s crop input locations as part of a side deal in Glencore’s acquisition of the grain handler.
The businesses will operate under Agrium’s retail brand, Crop Production Services.
"They will have two different companies to talk to about grain and crop inputs, so there is going to be the unbundling of the grain from the crop inputs from the old Viterra," said Kevin Helash, Regional Manager of CPS for Canada and the Pacific Northwest. "Other than that, our objective is to increase the level of service and product offering that we're able to provide to the customers."
Helash adds any concerns about the lack of competition in the crop input market following the take over are overstated, as there are very low barriers to entry for getting into the crop input business: "We see retailers coming into the marketplace on a regular basis and we see some exiting. We see lots of competition at the retail side, fertilizers are a global commodity and prices in western Canada are established based on global supply dynamics."
Glencore is still going through the approval process for the initial purchase of Viterra, however Viterra Shareholders have voted in favour of the buyout.
Sat, Apr 20, 1:00 PM
Contract, Full-time, Part-time, Seasonal, Term, Agriculture, Entry-Level, Labour
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