Leading commodities trader Cargill said it would invest 350 million reais ($212 million) to build a new corn processing mill in Brazil, another sign of growing local demand in one of the world's largest agricultural producers and exporters.

The new plant that will start operations in 2013 is intended to tap into growth in local food demand and will increase the company's corn processing capacity by 30 percent in South America.

The company said in a statement that it has not yet determined which of three states it will choose for the new plant's site but will take the decision sometime in the first semester of 2011.

This is the second investment in starch and sweetener production in just over two years. Investments of 197 million reais to expand its Uberlandia plant in Minas Gerais were completed in March, 2010.

Cargill also announced in late 2010 that it would invest 130 million reais to build its first biodiesel plant in Brazil. The company is one of the largest agricultural commodities traders in the world and is a major exporter in Brazil. (Reuters)