Commodity trader Noble Group (NOBG.SI) will invest about US$150 million ($212.6 million) to build its first soy crushing plant in Brazil, Valor Economico newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The plant, to be located in Brazil's main soy state of Mato Grosso, will be able to process 1.3 million tonnes of the legume per year, Ricardo Leiman, Noble's global chief executive, told Valor. 

 

Work will start at the beginning of 2011 at the latest, so that the plant can be operational in 2012, he said. 

 

The company is expanding operations in South America to fuel the Chinese market, which is a voracious consumer of commodities.