Cargill and Bunge are among five companies that have been fined for activities related to illegal deforestation in Brazil, reports Reuters.
The five trading firms -- ABC Indústria e Comércio SA, JJ Samar Agronegócios Eireli, Uniggel Proteção de Plantas Ltda, Cargill and Bunge -- were fined $6.7 million.
Government environmental agency Ibama, which imposed the fines, said in a statement that the firms bought nearly 3,000 tonnes of grain produced in areas off-limits to farming under environmental rules.
Cargill told Reuters it had not received notification from Ibama about the irregular soy purchases and would look into the matter.
Bunge said that its grain purchases in the area where it was fined are in line with best practices and it had consulted public databases on banned areas.
Read the full report here.
