14/08/2014 (The Japan Times) - Sumitomo Corp. and its Singapore-based unit, Sumitomo Corp. Asia & Oceania Pte. Ltd., have taken a controlling stake in Malaysian fertilizer maker Union Harvest Sdn. Bhd.

The trading house and its subsidiary said they have raised their joint equity stake in the Malaysian company to 60 percent from 20 percent through additional share purchases.

Sumitomo plans to leverage Union Harvest to expand its fertilizer business in Asia.

The group aims to boost fertilizer sales by threefold to some ¥20 billion by 2020 by building new plants. It is also considering expanding into Indonesia.

Union Harvest supplies fertilizers to domestic palm oil farmers. It has a compound fertilizer plant in the Pahang state capital of Kuantan with an annual production capacity of about 150,000 tons.

The Malaysian fertilizer market is expected to grow steadily, reflecting solid demand from palm oil farms. Malaysia accounts for about 40 percent of global palm oil output.

Malaysia is also one of the world’s largest fertilizer producers, and more than 80 percent of its fertilizer output is used in palm oil farms.