An explosion in a grain silo by COFCO, a Chinese company in Argentina, cost the lives of one employee on Wednesday and there were other casualties.
The cause of the explosion has not been disclosed yet, but the incident could have a major impact on exports from Argentina as the union of grain inspectors indefinitely went on strike to enforce better conditions in the workplace.
The COFCO plant is located on a 52,000 square meter site in the center of the Rosario loading hub. The plant was shut down immediately, followed by a comprehensive causal research. The plant can handle up to 27,000 tonnes of grain per day and has a storage capacity of 295,000 tonnes for grain and 105,000 tonnes for soybean meal.
The silo formerly belonged to Dutch grain trader Nidera, which COFCO took over in 2014. The acquisition and other mergers put COFCO at the top of the grain, sugar, coffee and edible oil traders.
Argentina is the world's largest exporter of soybean meal, which is shipped all over the world as feed. In addition, one of the major exporters of corn and soybeans.Soya is bought primarily by China, where the middle class is eating more and more beef and pork.
About 80% of all grain and oilseed exports from Argentina are handled by Rosario.
Text: HANSA Derivatives Trading GmbH / 
