Anshi Chen
Marketing 505, Environmental Paper
March 29, 2012
Paper Source
Cargill: inside the quite giant that rules food business, Fortune Magazine, October 2011
Summary
The article introduces Cargill, a food industry company. Cargill, headquartered in Wayzata, Minnesota, is the biggest corporation in food production and it is privately held. In 2011 fiscal year, its revenue was $119.5 billion. If Cargill goes public, it will be No. 18 on Fortune 500. In 1865, Cargill is found by William Wallace Cargill in Conover, Iowa. Today it is still owned 90% by Cargills and MacMillans, the two families jointed by marriage. Currently, Greg Page is the CEO. Although Cargill is huge and its business activities impact most Americans’ daily lives through various food channels, it has not been well known for the public. As a corporation, Cargill’s typical strategy is to acquire and sell businesses. It also has a tradition of developing innovative new business. Interestingly, Cargill doesn’t do farming as a food supplier.
Cargill runs business globally as 60% of its earnings are generated outside of US. It returned to Vietnam right after President Clinton normalized US and Vietnam relationships in 1995. After several successful projects, Cargill launched public-private partnership with Chocolate giant Mars, government of Vietnam and Netherlands in 2004 to create a cocoa export industry, which had never existed in Vietnam before. In 2011, Vietnam produced 2,500 tons of cocoa and 70% of them went to Cargill.
Cargill’s business goes up and down due to unpredictable events around the world. Concerning with long term prosperities, Cargill watches political policies carefully as food industry is heavily regulated and hence greatly affected by the governments’ legislations and policies.
The Legal Environmental Influence
As the largest multinational corporation in food industry, Cargill needs to adapt different legal environments,