Brazil's Cargill unit to build animal nutrition plant

SAO PAULO, May 19 (Reuters) - The Brazilian unit of U.S.-based Cargill will build a plant in Mato Grosso, the country's biggest farm state, to produce mineral supplements for cattle raised on pastures, according to a statement on Friday.

Mato Grosso is Brazil's biggest soy and corn producer as well as the home to the country's largest cattle herd.

Construction will begin this month and should be completed by end-2024. Cargill said it will invest 100 million reais ($20 million) in the venture.

Cargill also said that it intends to acquire a factory in Parana state that produces hog feed. The deal, closed for an undisclosed sum, was submitted for approval by local antitrust authorities.

($1 = 5.0033 reais) (Reporting by Roberto Samora Writing by Ana Mano; editing by John Stonestreet)