ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter "ITOCHU") announced today that it has entered into an agreement through ITOCHU International Inc. (headquartered in New York, the United States; Mitsuru Chino, CEO; hereinafter "III") regarding the establishment of Fuji Oil International Inc. (hereinafter "FII"), a joint venture together with Fuji Specialties, Inc. (headquartered in Delaware, the United States; Naohiro Rokukawa; President; hereinafter "FSI", a consolidated subsidiary of Fuji Oil Holdings Inc. (headquartered in Kita-ku, Osaka; Mikio Sakai, President & CEO; hereinafter "Fuji Oil Group"), with a view toward strengthening the oil and fat business in North America. Oilseeds International Ltd. (hereinafter "OSI"), a wholly owned subsidiary of III, and Fuji Vegetable Oils, Inc. (hereinafter "FVO"), a company under the umbrella of FSI, will establish the joint venture through capital contribution in kind.

OSI, a company based in California on the West Cost of the United States, imports, produce and sells premium fats and oils - such as high oleic sunflower oil and rice bran oil which are considered to be good for the health. Meanwhile, FVO has fat and oil production bases in Georgia and Louisiana in the southern United States and engages in the development, production and sale of fats and oils for bakery and confectionery products, alternative fats and oils for chocolate confections, and other oil and fat products using tropical oils including palm oil and coconut oil as raw materials.

Reflecting the recent acceleration of clean energy-related policies in the United States, demand for soybean oil for use as a renewable diesel fuel has been growing rapidly, causing a significant change in the supply and demand status of dietary fats and oils. With demand for fats and oils other than soybean oil expected to rise for food applications, the need to use not only imported fats and oils but also high functionality, high added-value fats and oils is growing to address demand from customers. ITOCHU and Fuji Oil Group will seek to leverage the two companies' strengths mainly through the shared use of the raw materials they own, the entrustment of production to each other, and their mutually complementary market segment areas in sales. By doing so, they aim to expand sales channels, develop new customers and create cost advantages while responding to changes in the business environment in the Unites States. Through these efforts, the two companies will increase the presence of the newly created FII in the value-added business areas of the North American fats and oils market.