Alliance Grain Traders Inc. Announces Marketing and Distribution Agreement with Cargill

SYMBOL:TSX: AGT

REGINA, Jan. 9, 2013 /CNW/ - Alliance Grain Traders Inc. ("AGT") announced that its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary, United Pulse Trading Inc. ("UPT"), has entered into an agreement with Cargill, Incorporated ("Cargill"), an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services, for Cargill to be the exclusive agent for UPT's pulse protein ingredient products for the animal feed sector, including pet foods.

The agreement is for a period of five years, with Cargill appointed as UPT's exclusive agent for the sales and marketing of pulse proteins in North America for the animal feed sector and UPT as the exclusive supplier of these ingredients to Cargill for this sector for the term of the agreement.

"We are very pleased to announce this agreement with Cargill as the first for our pet food and branded feed ingredient platform. We have commented on a number of occasions that we are excited about the profile of pulses as ingredients for protein, fibre and starch, and many of our customers agree with us on this. The fact that a major company like Cargill, with their position in the market, concurs with us on the potential opportunities for pulse ingredients and have entered into this agreement with us, which demonstrates that this new line of business is a positive and exciting development for us," said Mr. Murad Al-Katib, President and CEO of AGT. "Whether for human consumption or for animal feed, pulses are nutrient dense, non-GMO, gluten-free, high protein and fibre products with a desirable combination and untapped potential for the global food market. We are hopeful that further opportunities like this will arise and that they will have a positive impact on our earnings as the opportunities are pursued."

"Our agreement with Cargill is the first step towards realizing the opportunities that our new pulse ingredient platform provides. These ingredients provide added value to the pulses and staple foods products we are already producing and exporting around the globe. We expect that this new platform may assist in making AGT one of the preferred suppliers of ingredients critical to food companies producing branded products for feed applications, as Cargill is doing, and for retail and foodservice sale to consumers around the globe," added Mr. Huseyin Arslan, Executive Chairman of the AGT Board. "The size and scale of our planned operations in the food ingredient area, with Minot being the first facility planned to produce these products, we expect will assist us to capitalize on synergies from our other lines of business and demonstrate our strategy to grow this business unit."

AGT, with its new Minot, North Dakota pulses ingredient processing facility set to begin commissioning in late first quarter 2013, is expected to commence production in its first North American industrial scale, pulses ingredient processing and production facility producing protein, fibre, starch and flour derived from legumes including lentils, peas, chickpeas and beans for human food, food ingredient and animal feed including pet food applications. Sales and marketing activities by Cargill covered under this agreement are expected to begin shortly.

Alliance Grain Traders Inc. Profile
Alliance Grain Traders Inc. (AGT) is a value-added pulse, staple food and ingredient processor for export and domestic markets. Through its offices and processing facilities located in some of the best agricultural growing regions in Canada, the U.S., Turkey, China, Australia and South Africa, merchandising and sales offices in the U.K., the Netherlands and Spain and origination offices in Russia, AGT produces a full range of pulses and specialty crops including lentils, peas, chickpeas, beans and canary seed as well as food ingredients such as pulse flours, proteins, starches and fibres.  Through its subsidiaries in Turkey, the Arbel Group, AGT also produces staple foods such as Arbella Pasta, rice, and milled wheat products, including bulgur and semolina.

About Cargill
Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services. Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 142,000 people in 65 countries. Cargill helps customers succeed through collaboration and innovation, and is committed to sharing its global knowledge and experience to help meet economic, environmental and social challenges wherever it does business. For more information, visit http://www.cargill.com.

Cautionary Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable by AGT at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of AGT (including its operating subsidiaries) to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the actual results of harvests, fluctuations in the price of lentils and other crops, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents or labour disputes, risks relating to the integration of acquisitions or to international operations, as well as those factors referred to in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Annual Information Form of AGT dated March 27, 2012 which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, and which should be reviewed in conjunction with this document. Although AGT has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.  AGT expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

SOURCE: Alliance Grain Traders Inc.

Omer Al-Katib, Investor Relations 
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