US agribusiness giant Cargill has confirmed plans to follow up its recent move into Colombia through M&A with investment of up to US$500m.

Cargill, which last month announced its entry into the South American country with the acquisition of local meat processor Pollos El Bucanero, has drawn up plans for the next five years, although it stopped short of providing specific details.

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“As our president of Cargill Protein Latin America Xavier Vargas stated during an interview last week, Cargill has plans to invest $300-$500m in the following five years in Colombia,” a spokesperson told just-food. “The intention is to continue growing organically and inorganically.”

Vargas had spoken to Reuters on Thursday, telling the newswire Colombia was “a very attractive country”, adding: “We want to keep growing in animal protein.” He did not provide any details of Cargill’s investment plan for Colombia.

Cargill already has protein operations in Latin America, including businesses in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

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