SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL — Amaggi, a privately-owned grain trading group owned by the family of former Brazilian Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi, plans to boost capital spending in 2021 to $436 million, a sevenfold increase from last year, according to Reuters.

In a recent interview with Reuters, Judiney Carvalho, chief executive officer of Amaggi, said the company plans to grow through acquisitions and greenfield projects. The company’s efforts, in part, are being fueled by demand for Brazilian agriculture commodities.

Carvalho also told Reuters that Amaggi is building two new fertilizer plants (in Mato Grosso and Rondonia), which expands on the company’s earlier announcement that it is building its first biodiesel facility in Mato Grosso.

Amaggi’s capital spending efforts are expected to raise the company’s grain storage capacity while giving it a stronger foothold to compete against Cofco and Cargill.

“We are in all phases of the supply chain,” Carvalho told Reuters, citing relationships with some 6,000 farmers as well as production from its own farms. “Our structure makes our decision-making process faster than that of the ABDC’s.”

Founded in 1977, Amaggi is present in all regions in Brazil, as well as in Argentina, China, the Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay and Switzerland. The company is active in logistics, energy, agricultural production, commodities and shipping.