With Japan’s population shrinking and its economy long past its high-growth phase, Marubeni and competitors Itochu, Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Sumitomo are now turning abroad.
To break into the top five traders would require Marubeni to take market share from the so-called “ABCD” groups – ADM, Bunge and Cargill of the US and France’s Louis Dreyfus – and Swiss-based Glencore.
The company’s CEO said Marubeni was better positioned than its US and European rivals to take advantage of new opportunities in Asia, especially China.
