MECHELEN, Belgium--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 3, 2026--
In a move that underscores Cargill’s commitment to the Belgian market, the company announced two recent expansions at its Izegem edible oils bottling site and its Mouscron gourmet chocolate facility, along with a new extrusion pilot plant at its Vilvoorde Innovation Center. The approximately €56 million total investment enhances the company’s operational and research & innovation capabilities. It also supports Cargill’s ability to serve growing demand for edible oils, premium chocolate products and customer-led innovation.
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In just 12 months, Cargill has transformed its largest edible oil bottling facility in Europe into an even stronger foodservice hub. With a €21 million investment, around 60% of the site was transformed focusing on nearly doubling its capacity and developing automation and innovation intended to improve efficiency and reinforce long-term supply reliability. The expansion also includes two new dedicated foodservice production lines enabling flexible production and reinforcing its strong capabilities in serving foodservice customers.
In Mouscron, linked to its current gourmet chocolate production site, Cargill’s €30 million investment adds an impressive 10,500 sqm of additional production space, almost doubling the company’s gourmet chocolate production capabilities. The expansion strengthens Cargill’s ability to help gourmet chocolate customers respond to seasonal demand, develop more tailored products and shorten lead times. The expanded site will produce Cargill’s premium couverture chocolate range Veliche and support artisanal foodservice customers, restaurants and food manufacturers.
Cargill has also strengthened its European R&D capabilities in Vilvoorde through a €5.4 million investment in a new extrusion pilot plant at its Innovation Center. The facility supports rapid prototyping, ingredient functionality testing and customer collaboration across food, feed and pet food applications, and builds on the previously announced €45 million investment in Cargill’s food innovation center in Vilvoorde. Together, these investments strengthen Cargill’s broader European R&D network.
“Belgium is a key strategic hub for Cargill in Europe, thanks to its strong food industry, close customer connectivity, and advanced logistics infrastructure that enable efficient supply across Western Europe,” said Geert Maesmans, Vice President of R&D for Cargill’s Food business in EMEA and Cargill’s Belgium country lead. “These investments not only strengthen our local food R&D and production capabilities but allow us to continue to grow with our customers and provide them with more diverse and innovative food solutions across Belgium and the EMEA region.”
The recent investments add to Cargill’s broader footprint in Belgium, where the company has operated since 1953 and today employs more than 1,500 people across 9 locations spanning production, R&D and regional coordination functions.
Together, the Izegem, Mouscron, and Vilvoorde investments reinforce Belgium’s position in Cargill’s European network and support the company’s focus on supply, innovation and more sustainable production.
About Cargill
Cargill is committed to providing food, ingredients, agricultural solutions, and industrial products to nourish the world in a safe, responsible, and sustainable way. Sitting at the heart of the supply chain, we partner with farmers and customers to source, make and deliver products that are vital for living.
Our 155K+ employees innovate with purpose, providing customers with life’s essentials so businesses can grow, communities prosper, and consumers live well. With 160 years of experience as a family company, we look ahead while remaining true to our values. We put people first. We reach higher. We do the right thing—today and for generations to come. For more information, visit Cargill.com and our News Center.
Expansion of Cargill’s edible oils operations in Izegem, Belgium, where the company is investing to increase bottling capacity and strengthen its foodservice production capabilities.
Veliche gourmet chocolate products on a new production line at Cargill’s site in Mouscron, Belgium, where the company is expanding production capacity for gourmet chocolate.
A Cargill employee working at the company’s Innovation Center in Vilvoorde, Belgium, where Cargill is strengthening its R&D capabilities to support food innovation and customer collaboration.
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday rejected a proposal by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a face-to-face meeting on the 4-year-old conflict, saying he sees “no point” in it.
Thursday's letter, the first public message Zelenskyy has written directly to Putin since Russia sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, was a sweeping critique of the Russian leader’s 26 years in power as well as some taunts about his age.
Speaking at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, Putin described Zelenskyy’s open letter proposing the meeting as “boorish.”
“Is it a way to create conditions for personal meetings and talks, or create an environment which makes any personal meetings impossible?” Putin said at a question-and-answer session at his annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. “I think it’s the second.”
Putin added that a Russian businessman whom he didn’t identify traveled to Kyiv last month and met with Zelenskyy to hear his offer of a personal meeting.
However, Putin said that he currently sees “no point” in such a meeting, especially after a May 22 drone attack by Ukraine on a college dormitory in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region that Moscow said killed 21 and wounded scores of others.
In response to Zelenskyy’s barbs about his age and long stay in power, the 73-year-old Putin pointed at other global leaders who are older, adding that “the main thing isn’t age; the main thing is the ability to work.”
He also mocked Zelenskyy's rocky Oval Office meeting in 2025 and thanked U.S. President Donald Trump for “educating” Zelenskyy “before the eyes of the whole world” and teaching him a proper dress code.
“There is still a lot to be done,” he said.
Zelenskyy acknowledged shifting U.S. priorities, saying it would be wrong to simply wait for the Trump administration to return its attention to ending the fighting in Ukraine while it remains heavily focused on the Iran war.
In Washington, Trump said Thursday it “would be great” if Putin and Zelenskyy meet.
Putin has previously offered for Zelenskyy to come to Moscow for talks, an offer that the Ukrainian leader pointedly rejected. Putin said last month he doesn’t exclude a meeting in a third country, but only when there is a deal to sign.
On Thursday, Putin again rejected Zelenskyy’s push for an immediate ceasefire, arguing that Moscow wants a comprehensive settlement, not a temporary truce.
Putin said Russia is open for a compromise on Ukraine in line with understandings reached at his last year’s summit with Trump in Anchorage, Alaska, adding that Ukraine needs to accept them to make a deal to end the conflict.
“Naturally, the Ukrainian side would like us to suspend the advances made by Russian troops,” he said. “But it would be better to end the war by agreeing to the compromises that were discussed in Anchorage.”
Asked about Iran, Putin voiced hope for an eventual deal to secure lasting peace. He shrugged off claims that Moscow provided Iran with satellite images, saying that Tehran could use widely available commercial ones.
"As for weapons, Iran hasn’t asked us for them and we haven’t supplied any weapons to Iran,” he said, adding that Russia stands ready to take enriched uranium for storage as part of a potential peace deal, and that Moscow has stayed in contact with Iran, the U.S. and Israel.
In a speech earlier Friday at the forum, Putin said developing countries have gained an increasingly important role in the global economy, while the share of output by Western countries has shrunk.
He accused the West of undermining the global economy and finances with unilateral sanctions. By freezing Russian assets abroad through sanctions, Western nations eroded trust in their own currencies, he said.
“The sanctions and blocking of Russia’s sovereign reserves have irreversibly impacted the standing of international currencies, the dollar and the euro,” he said. “Just like Russia, any other country could lose access to their legitimate assets in dollars or euros, as well as Western financial and payment systems.”
He alleged that high state debt had helped undermine global trust in Western institutions.
“The roots of the current global turbulence lie in the transition from a vertical, hierarchical model, which served the interests of a small number of states, to a more complex, distributed and multipolar one,” Putin said. “Russia views global changes not only as a threat but also as immense opportunities. And to capitalize on them, we aim to act swiftly and pragmatically.”
The Russian leader said the world needed a “modern, flexible and responsible financial architecture — free from risks, bans and barriers.”
Putin played down Russia’s economic slowdown and sought to emphasize its macroeconomic stability. He noted that Russia’s state debt is a fraction of that in Western countries and its budget deficit is considerably smaller, compared with the West.
The forum comes at a time when Russia’s economic outlook has clouded amid the conflict in Ukraine. The government raised taxes and increased domestic borrowing to keep its budget deficit under control.
On Thursday, Putin told heads of international media on the forum's sidelines that it was an exaggeration to say Russia's economy was struggling. He noted that his government had taken deliberate steps to cool the economy to keep inflation under control.
Putin has used the St. Petersburg forum, likened to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, to showcase his country’s economic advances and encourage foreign investment. While Western officials and business leaders have stayed away after Putin sent troops into Ukraine in 2022, Russia has sought guests from elsewhere to underline its declared goal of promoting a “multipolar world.”
Saudi Arabia sent a large delegation this year, and the presidents of Uzbekistan and Tanzania and vice president of China also gave speeches Friday. A U.S. official, Rodney Mims Cook Jr., head of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, is attending for the first time in years.
Cook was singled out in the audience during a question-and-answer session following Putin's speech. Cook praised the beauty of St. Petersburg and Putin thanked him for the remarks about his hometown and asked to convey his greetings to Trump.
Hours before the forum opened Wednesday, a Ukrainian drone attack set ablaze an oil terminal in St. Petersburg and also hit a nearby naval base.
Putin declared that Russia was “calmly and resolutely” moving to reach its goals in Ukraine. He acknowledged the damage from Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside Russia and vowed to build up defenses.
“They do inflict a certain damage,” he said. “For us, it means only one thing: we need to strengthen our security, strengthen air defenses, and we will do that.”
Participants watch a broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech on a TV screen during a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
A participant watches a broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's speech on a TV screen during a plenary session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, speaks as Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan, left, and Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev sit near during a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Russian President Vladimir Putin sits prior to a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures speaking at a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
In this photo released by the Roscongress Foundation, Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, June 5, 2026. (Kirill Kazachkov/Roscongress Foundation via AP)
Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev addresses a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
People visit an exhibition at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St.Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. (Anatoly Maltsev/Pool Photo via AP)
People visit an exhibition at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St.Petersburg, Russia, on Thursday, June 4, 2026. (Anatoly Maltsev/Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures as he arrives to attend a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, June 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
In this photo released by the Roscongress Foundation, Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, and Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan arrive to attend a plenary session at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Friday, June 5, 2026. (Vyacheslav Viktorov/Roscongress Foundation via AP)
