Our 200+ Years History

When Johann Bunge founded a trading company in Amsterdam in 1818, did he imagine it would still be thriving more than two centuries later?

Bunge began as an import-export business in a single city. Starting with Johann’s grandsons, Edouard and Ernest, the family expanded his vision through generations and across oceans. In 1884, together with the Born family, it launched a grain trading company in the burgeoning agribusiness market of Argentina. In 1905 the company expanded to Brazil and in 1918 to North America, the world’s largest agricultural market. Asia and Europe followed, as Bunge steadily established itself in the world’s great crop-growing regions, while staying close to the customers it served. We continue to follow this path today.

Throughout our more than 200 years of experience, we continued to focus on achieving the right balance between our core activities in agribusiness and food and ingredients. Bunge moved headquarters from Sao Paulo to New York in 2001. In 2019, Bunge moved its global headquarters to the St. Louis metropolitan area, where the company had already a major business presence. The region is also home to a number of food, agriculture, animal health and plant science organizations and customers.

We continue to seek out opportunities around the world that will strengthen our winning global footprint and achieve the right balance in both business type and capital allocation. We consistently work to create value by serving customers better, improving our processes, strengthening global food security and helping communities prosper. Everything we do is to keep our purpose in connecting farmers to consumers to sustainably deliver essential food, feed and fuel around the world.

Deep roots and experience

For more than two centuries, Bunge has worked to improve the global agri-food chain.
Europe-based
trading house
 

1818

J.P.G. Bunge founds Bunge & Co. in Amsterdam
 

1884

Establishes operations in South America (Argentina)
Ag and food conglomerate with strong presence in South America
 

1905

Expands into Brazil
 

1918

Starts trading in North America
 

1970-80s

Diversifies along the food production chain
Global multi-segment agribusiness in oilseeds, grains, fertilizer and sugar
 

1993-97

Corporate restructuring to focus on agribusiness
 

1997

Ceval acquisition in Brazil, the largest soy processor in the country. Over the next 7 years, acquisitions and organic growth make Bunge the largest soy processor in South America.
 

2001: NYSE IPO

Moves headquarters to U.S. and, since going public, expands to India, China, the Pacific Northwest, Vietnam and Australia.
 

2002

Acquires Cereol, a global company with a footprint in the U.S. leading brands in Europe, the largest canola processing capacity in Canada, and soybean processing capacity in Spain. This transaction makes Bunge the world’s largest soybean processor and supplier of bottled oils to consumers.
 

2005

Opens first soybean processing plant in China
 

2010

Enters sugar business
 

2015

Launch of global non-deforestation policy and creation of a Board committee on sustainability
 

2017-18

Acquires Loders Croklaan, a leader in the semi-specialty and specialty B2B palm and tropical oils market
 

2018

Celebrates 200 years
Strategy with oilseeds
at the core
 

2019-Present

Global strategic business review
 

2019

Moves global HQ to St. Louis, opens new specialty oils and fats processing facility in China and creates JV with BP for the Sugar and Bioenergy business in Brazil
 

2020

Announces global new strategy with oilseeds at the core
 

2021

Announces joint venture with Chevron to create renewable fuel feedstocks and establishes new commitment to climate action with science-based targets to reduce GHG emissions
 

2022

Announces investment in new protein concentrate facility in the U.S. and continues to grow in the renewable fuels space in the U.S. and Europe