Viterra’s financing products for Prairie farmers are “unaffected” by the world’s tightening credit markets, the company said Friday.
Canada’s largest grain company said in a release that it has pre-approved over 19,000 customers for credit financing to date, backed by Scotiabank and totaling over $830 million.
“We expect to extend a total of $1.4 billion in credit by spring of next year,” said George Prosk, the Regina-based company’s senior vice-president for financial products, in the release.
Viterra offers customers credit throughout the year to help finance purchases of seed, fertilizer, crop protection products and equipment. The company also offers a financing package for livestock operations’ feed inputs through its livestock feed and services division, under the brand name Unifeed Financial.
Read Also
Good weather for Alberta harvest
With hot and dry conditions the Alberta harvest is now in full swing, advancing 14 points to 22 per cent complete, the provincial agriculture department reported on Sept. 5. Combining was one point up compared to its five-average.
Access to credit has become an issue for numerous businesses worldwide after this year’s bursting of the global credit bubble. But some financial industry observers have said businesses that are either already heavily leveraged or looking to borrow large sums to finance their dealings have more to fear from a credit crunch, compared to borrowers who have strong credit ratings or are able to fully service their debt loads.
