Fuji Oil : Establishment of new company to expand vegetable oil business in North America

Fuji Oil Holdings Inc (Head office: Osaka, President: Mikio Sakai: hereinafter referred to as the "Fuji Oil Group") has reached an agreement with Fuji Specialties, Inc (Delaware, USA: hereinafter referred to as "FSI"), a consolidated subsidiary of the Company, and ITOCHU International Inc (Hereinafter referred to as "III"), a ITOCHU corporation (Head Office: Tokyo; President & COO: Keita Ishii: hereinafter "ITOCHU") group company headquartered in New York, to establish a new joint venture company, Fuji Oil International Inc (Hereinafter referred to as "FII") in March 2022 (planned), subject to certain conditions, including the completion of necessary procedures and actions under the Competition Law.

The new company, FII, will leverage the strengths of both Fuji Oil Group and ITOCHU Group to expand sales channels, develop new customers and create synergies, and will work to increase its presence in the North American market.

Fuji Vegetable Oil, Inc. (Hereinafter referred to as "FVO"), a subsidiary of FSI, has been developing, manufacturing, and selling oils and fats for confectionery and baking, using tropical fats such as palm oil and coconut oil as raw materials in North American markets. In response to the growing demand for non-trans fatty acid oils and fats. Fuji Oil New Orleans, LLC (Hereinafter referred to as "FVN") was newly established in 2018 and became ready to serve the market place from multiple locations.

In the same market, III has been developing its oils and fats business through Oilseeds International, Ltd. (Hereinafter referred to as "OSI"), a wholly owned subsidiary with strengths in the production and sales of specialty oils, such as sunflower oil and rice bran oil.

In the U.S, the demand for soybean oil is rapidly increasing for use in renewable diesel fuel due to clean fuel policies since the inauguration of President Biden, which has and will impact both supply and the price of soybean oil in the food market.
The new company, FII, will hold FVO, FVN and OSI under its umbrella, and will expand its business by connecting and collaborating with the existing businesses of each company. The scope of the collaboration covers a wide range of areas, from raw materials to manufacturing and sales. As demand for products other than soybean oil is expected to increase, the companies will mutually seek to utilize each other's raw materials supply chain, processing capabilities, market channels and sales areas to strengthen supply capabilities of value-added products and solutions to the North American food market.

Fuji Oil Group and ITOCHU Corporation will achieve further growth in the rapidly changing North American vegetable oils and fats market through the new company, FII, with the aim of increasing the sustainable corporate value of both companies.