The Background of Lee Gyein, President of POSCO International, Flying to the US... "Rising as an International Grain Trader by 2030"

[Financial News] POSCO International is aiming to become a global food business operator, expanding its business in North and Latin America. POSCO International aims to grow its food trading volume, which is about 5.5 million tons this year, to an annual handling system of 10 million tons by 2030. 
POSCO International announced that on the 18th (local time) in Kansas City, USA, a business agreement was signed with Lee Gyein, President of POSCO International, and Joe Griffiths, President of Bartlett and Company, a US grain company, in attendance. Bartlett and Company is a US grain company based in the Midwest with a history of 118 years (founded in 1907). It procures, distributes, and processes grains such as corn, wheat, and soybeans, and has a total of 15 grain terminals in 10 states in the US Midwest and Mexico. The core of this agreement is not only the expansion of the North American grain market and trading partners but also joint entry into Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Through this agreement, POSCO International plans to gradually increase its procurement competitiveness in South America, which is emerging as the world's largest grain export market, while increasing its handling volume in the US, a major grain-producing country. 
The two companies agreed to expand grain trading to an annual scale of 4 million tons by 2027. This is expected to accelerate the achievement of POSCO International's original goal of expanding the total food business handling scale to 7 million tons by 2027. Since its full-scale entry into the food business in 2015, POSCO International has steadily expanded its business scale. It plans to handle 4 million tons annually in 2024 and 5.5 million tons this year, with 2 million tons being imported domestically. Furthermore, by 2027, it aims to increase the food business handling scale to 7 million tons, expanding by more than 50% compared to 2024, three years earlier. South Korea's grain self-sufficiency rate is less than 20%, relying on imports for more than 16 million tons of grain annually, making supply chain diversification important.
In addition to the US grain business, plans are underway to accelerate grain business in Ukraine and Indonesia. POSCO International is reportedly managing local grain facilities to ensure they can operate immediately, considering the possibility of early normalization of Ukrainian grain terminals in the event of the end of the Russia-Ukraine war. In the palm oil sector, it operates a palm plantation of 30,000 hectares in Indonesia and will complete a palm oil refinery with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons in the fourth quarter of this year. In the palm oil business, which is also attracting attention as a raw material for biofuels, it plans to establish a consistent business system from palm plantations to refined oil production by securing additional farms. A POSCO International official said, "We are fostering the food business as one of the three main businesses along with energy and materials," adding, "We will establish a stable business foundation in the highly competitive global grain market." ehcho@fnnews.com Reporter Eunhyo Cho