The Diester Industrie International (DII) is the venture that operates the group’s facilities in Austria, Belgium, Germany and Italy, with Sofiprotéol-owned bio-diesel producer Diester having a 60% majority stake.
Sofiprotéol CEO Jean-Philippe Puig was quoted by Reuters as saying that the company plans to limits its risks and exposure on the bio-diesel segment.
"They (Bunge) are mainly present in Northern Europe and we are in France and southern Europe. So there are a number of talks going on with them," said Puig.
The European bio-diesel sector has seen a recent downturn with local producers facing stiff competition from Latin American and Asian producers who are at a cost advantage.
A proposal from the EU, which aims to limit usage, could further dampen the mood of the industry.
DII has a total bio-diesel production capacity of 1 million tons per annum and had earlier stopped production at its Livorno facility in Italy due to overcapacity with no further plans of resumption.
