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did you know?
did you know?
What'sNewS Issue 11 November 1998
Teaming up
Top talkers
Utrecht. He specializes in edible
oils - specifically palm oil.
Having clocked up sixyears
experience in Argentina, another
name in edible oil seeds is Aitor
Ezcurra. His particuiar area of
specialization is in soya bean oil.
Another palm oil specialist is
APFT's Twan
Geurts (top right)
in Jakarta.
Charles Hallock
(right) is our New
York based grain
and oil seed guru.
week ago, the Dutch minister
of agriculture and fisheries
opened our European dairy
conference held in the
Netherlands. That particuiar
event drew speakers from the
global sector, even though the
focus was European. The
New Zealand Dairy Board
and Dairy Farmers of
America were both there, as
well as Italy's Parmalat and
the Dutch top food retailer
Albert Heijn.
It seems as though - at least
in F&A - we can truly claim
to be a purveyor of customer-
focused knowledge as well as
banking products. And if you
are thinking that this is all a
little too much like cheer-
leading and waving our own
flag, why not ask yourself:
Why not? We do this very
You can check out what FAR
has to offer in terms ofinfor-
mation and knowledge by
accessing the public folders,
click on:
Public Folders, then click
All public folders, then
Food Agribusiness and fnally
Knowledge base F&A.
well indeed. Why not
acknowledge that and make
sure we do just as well in
every other core area where
we operate. Teams like FAR
and APFT make it look easy
- both would argue it's
because they are teams.
Maybe it is that easy, maybe
it is about sharing, rather
than retaining, information
that could just make the
difference in facilitating the
deal you're working on.
Sao Paulo, but now
temporarily based
j in Bangkok due to
A unrest in the
fej region's poultry
mdustry.
Prior to joining APFT, Roger
Bradshaw (above) spentmany
years in the sugar trade. He is now a
Hong Kong based sugar expert with
particuiar geographical
specialization in the Asian region.
Formerly with APFT in Singapore,
Ben Huiskamp (right) is now a
relationship manager based in
More recently, he has
also become
j|| something of an
- expert in erop inputs,
such as fertilizers,
farm equipment and
seeds. Through years
of experience, he is
used to working
globally, his
particuiar geo-
graphic areas of
specialization
include Canada, Mexico and North
America. Continued on page 10
meetings, it is also easier to
have candid discussions on
many issues of interest.'
At that conference was a
heavy contingent of corporate
finance and other product
specialists, including M&A
and people from investment
banking. Our customers are
not only keen to talk to each
other, it seems. These events
also create a conducive
environment for transacting
business. The cotton con
ference in San Francisco is a
case in point. Our California
and Sydney offices picked up
the deal of the month
recently for a transaction that
started over breakfast during
the conference. Similarly, we
are recognized as such an
important player ourselves,
that government ministers
turn out to do the honours
for us at openings. Just a
Being a global operation, it's not
surprising we have a wealth of
information at our doorstep. Some
of our better known and proven
sector specialists include:
Gordon Butland - a poultry
specialist, usually operating from
also for the bank. At the most
recent conference, 'edible oils'
in Rio de Janeiro, a top
mlayer in the sector remarked
That 'most conferences focus
011 one link in the chain. That
means there are few
opportunities to meet with
people from the whole
[business and discuss industry-
related business with them.
Because Rabobank
conferences are truly
international and sector wide
