48 



CARGILL HISTORY AND GROWTH 



In its early years, Cargill functioned as a regional 

 trader and merchandiser of grains. Today the company 

 trades vegetable oils and meal, cotton, wool, coffee, 

 cocoa, sugar. molasses, rubber, petroleum, financial 

 instruments and other commodities. Cargill has grown 

 from a small, regionally based grain trader to become a 

 major participant in global commodity markets. Over the 

 years, our trading businesses led us to serve other needs 

 in closely related activities — barge transportation and 

 later ocean freight, feed manufacturing and sales, seed 

 research and sales and fertilizer distribution. 



We also process many of the raw products that we handle. 

 We mill corn, wheat and rice; process and refine 

 soybeans and other oilseeds; produce malt, and process 

 oranges and cocoa. Trading and processing skills also 

 have been applied to the meat business. We slaughter and 

 process beef, pork, chickens and turkeys. 



Trading and processing skills have provided a platform 

 for our participation in a number of industrial 

 businesses. For instance, we produce nitrogen and 

 phosphate fertilizer, salt and steel products. 



Cargill has grown from a simple grain store at the end of 

 rail line in Conover, Iowa, to a business with nearly 50 

 product lines related by the use of similar processes, 

 service to common customers or reliance on the same raw 

 material inputs. We operate close to 800 offices and 

 facilities in 58 countries and employ more than 67,000 

 people worldwide. We serve both local and global 

 markets, responding to a growing demand for basic goods 

 and services important to human well-being. 



The profile of Cargill 's exports reflect general trends 

 in world trade, as well as the profile of our 

 businesses. Raw commodities dominated U.S. exports for 

 many years in both value and volume; they dominated the 

 company's business, as well. 



However, in 1986, the value of world trade in 

 consumer-oriented food products exceeded raw agricultural 

 commodity trade for the first time. The United States was 

 somewhat slow in responding to that surge in higher value 

 trade, but today, higher value/consumer-oriented export 

 sales account for two-thirds of the value of U.S. 

 agricultural export sales. These exports are growing at 

 a much faster rate than bulk exports. Cargill 's export 

 sales of higher-value products, like beef, pork, 

 processed grains, oils, meals, feeds and other food 

 products show a similar trend. 



The trend for bulk exports has not been as bright: the 

 market for raw commodity export sales is substantially 

 below the peak of the early 1980s. U.S. market share 

 also has declined. However, we still remain the major 

 exporter of bulk commodities, and Cargill is a major 

 trader in that realm. 



