Sao Paulo, 16 October (Argus) — CooperAlfa, a cooperative focused on the production of grains and flours, is preparing to start activities in the biodiesel market from 2027, after completing the construction of its first plant in Chapecó (SC).
The capacity of the new plant will be 1,150 m³/d and is part of the entity’s expansion plan, which also increases its grain processing and intensifies efforts to operate in different segments of the soy complex.
In a conversation with Argus, CooperAlfa’s commercial advisor, Luiz Kessler, talks about the cooperative’s plans to maintain the balance between biodiesel operations and the supply of inputs in the domestic market. Below are the main excerpts from the interview.
What led CooperAlfa to enter the biodiesel market?
We have participated in the Brazilian biodiesel program since the beginning, mainly as a supplier of raw materials for the biofuel industries. Currently, we supply more than 200,000 tonnes (t)/year of soy produced from family farming, which go [in the form of oil] to the [biodiesel producing] companies.
The cooperative’s focus is on family farming and small producers. We see in biodiesel an opportunity to improve this commercial relationship with these workers and with the market.
We expanded our soy crushing approximately 2 years ago. We went from 700t to 2,000 t/d, with the expertise of selling soy oil and meal on the market. From there we started to analyze what the next step would be. Considering the blend mandate and the projection of increase [of biodiesel in diesel], we saw the opportunity to include this segment in the cooperative’s business.
How does CooperAlfa plan to gain space in a market that already has almost 60 biodiesel plants?
I believe the dispute will be with stronger participants than us, but one of our particularities is the relationship we build with customers.
Our strategy was to install three centrifuges in the plant, to be able to work with three different modules until reaching over 1,000 m³/d. It will be easier to manage the amount of biodiesel we produce, according to the market we conquer.
Will CooperAlfa produce biodiesel from soy oil or will it use other inputs?
We designed the plant to be flex, so it will have the possibility to receive other fats. We will start running with soy oil and we will learn over time, but the idea is to take advantage of all existing opportunities. We are located in a region with large slaughterhouses, both for swine and poultry, so there is also availability of these fats.
Will CooperAlfa’s soy oil supply decrease with biodiesel production?
Our structure has tanks for the commercialization of soy oil, but the numbers will tell where we will “put our eggs”, in biodiesel or in the input. But we will stop supplying part of the oil volume to the market.
We realize that the greatest success is for those who can work across the entire chain. We have the producer, the soy, the processing industry, and now, the biodiesel one.
By Natalia Dalle Cort
