Miller Magazine Issue 110 / February 2019

36 NEWS MILLER / FEBRUARY 2019 General Mills sells dough brand to Argentina’s Molinos Molinos Río de la Plata, a unit of the Perez Companc Group, has acquired La Salteña from General Mills, Inc. for an undisclosed amount. La Salteña produces refri- gerated doughs and fresh and dry pastas. Founded in 1962, the brand employs more than 500 staff members and has a plant in Burzaco, Argentina. Molinos said it will work to develop La Salteña’s offerings and increase its visibility among Argentine consumers. The acquisition is part of Molinos’ aggressive invest- ment and growth strategy. Over the past two years, the Argentine food company, which owns more than 20 brands, has invested $100 million into updating and expanding its operations, which includes the construc- tion of two storage centers and two gluten-free noodle lines and creating Chocoarroz and Gallo Snacks produ- ction lines. Molinos Rio de la Plata, an Argentinian food company owned by the Perez Group, has acquired a local dough making business from General Mills in the US. Iraq to resume imports of Russian wheat Iraq, a major Middle East grain importer, is interested in purchasing Russia’s durum wheat, agriculture wat- chdog Rosselkhoznadzor said in a statement following talks with officials from the Iraqi Trade Ministry, Uk- rAgroConsult reports. According to the statement, the officials were asked to provide the Iraqi side with data on production volu- mes in different regions of Russia, as well as informati- on about the types of wheat grown in Russia. The Mos- cow-based agency pledged to send all the necessary materials to the Iraqi trade ministry. “The Iraqi specia- lists have thanked us for the inspection. They stressed that the country is mainly interested in supplies of du- rum wheat for potentially processing it into flour,” the statement reads. The parties are said to have discussed creating a working group for dealing with the issues relating to grains and derivative products. The last cargo with Russian wheat was shipped to Iraq in 2014. Back then, the country purchased 118,500 tons of wheat and meslin (a mixture of wheat and rye). That amounted to 0.5 percent of Russia’s total exports of wheat and meslin, according to Russia’s Federal Customs Service. However, Baghdad has been buying some other gra- ins from Russian producers. Last year, Iraq purchased 453,000 tons of barley and 1,456,000 tons of rice. Iraq’s annual demand for wheat is reportedly five mil- lion tons with the current import gap hovering around two million tons a year. Over the recent years, Black Sea grain suppliers have given intense competition to US ones, winning the market share in North Africa and the Middle East. In November, Iraqi Trade Minister Mohammed Hashim Al-Aani, who also oversees the grain board, said Iraq wants Russia to participate in its state tenders. In December, Rosselkhoznadzor said the countries also agreed on the building of grain storage facilities in Iraq and supplies of advanced processing equipment as part of the post-war reconstruction of the country’s agricultural sector. UkrAgroConsult