Media Room - News Release

THE SOLAE COMPANY DEBUTS AS GLOBAL SPECIALTY FOOD INGREDIENT SUPPLIER
The Mission: Innovate and Mainstream Value-Added, Plant-Based Ingredients;
Expand Products and Services to Customers to Meet Growing Demand

ST. LOUIS, April 2, 2003 – The Solae Company today debuts as one of the world's premier developers and marketers of branded, plant-based, specialty food, feed, and industrial ingredients. Initially, the company's annual revenues are expected to exceed $800 million.

The Solae Company is being formed through a two-stage process. Bunge Limited and DuPont have concluded definitive agreements and contributed assets comprising DuPont's Protein Technologies business and Bunge's North American and European ingredients operations. In the second stage, Bunge will contribute its Brazilian ingredients operations. Bunge will sell its majority interest in these operations to The Solae Company, which then will extend an offer to acquire the interest of minority shareholders.

The Solae Company will focus on significantly growing the global business in plant- based, specialty food ingredients, initially addressing soy protein and lecithin, and expanded offerings of products and services that help customers compete and prosper.

With manufacturing operations in four major regions and six technical centers around the world, The Solae Company offers knowledgeable staff, customer support, and technical capabilities, combining local market insights with global expertise and experience to create customized solutions. The Solae Company's long-term aim is to incorporate great-tasting, value-added, specialty food ingredients into the world's menu in every day meat products, beverages, cereals, and a wide range of processed foods.

"From the outset, The Solae Company is a different kind of business for the specialty ingredients and agricultural industries," said Stephan Tanda, chief executive officer of The Solae Company. "The Solae Company begins operating with the market orientation, innovative capability, scale, and scientific experience necessary to be a strong contender in the fast-growing, global market for specialty food ingredients."

"One of most important factors that distinguishes The Solae Company is the track record of its predecessors as trusted innovators for, and advisors to, the food and beverage industries," Tanda continued. "We have built this reputation by providing food and beverage manufacturers with creative ideas for new products, by improving efficiencies in food manufacturing processes and supply chains, and by developing complete business solutions.

"Another factor that sets The Solae Company apart is the more than 30 years of scientific expertise it inherits," said Tanda. The Solae Company's soy proteins are the proteins of choice used in approximately 400 completed or ongoing medical studies about the efficacy of soy with respect to heart health, women's health, cancer, weight management, and blood pressure management.

The Solae Company will extend its scientific leadership on July 12-16, 2003, at the International Food Technology (IFT) conference in Chicago, where it will host an industry symposium about the role of plant-based, specialty food ingredients in reducing the rapidly increasing incidence of obesity in the United States.

"The demand for plant-based, specialty ingredients for meats, foods, and beverages is growing at healthy annual rates. The Solae Company has the scale and capacity to compete in these fast-growing market segments, and the firm will continue to pioneer the development of plant-based, specialty ingredients," Tanda concluded.

The Solae Company serves food manufacturers, retailers, and consumers in 100 countries worldwide including the United States and Canada, Europe and Middle East, Latin America and the Asia/Pacific region.

Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about strategy for growth, product development, market position, expected expenditures and financial results are forward-looking statements. Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "many," "will," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "aims," "projects," "indicates," and similar expressions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors, including those discussed more fully in this release and in documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by DuPont and Bunge could cause results to differ materially from those stated. These factors include, but are not limited to, changes in the laws, regulations, policies, economic and political conditions, including inflation, interest and foreign currency exchange rates of countries in which the companies do business; competitive pressures; ability to complete, integrate and benefit from acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and alliances; cost of raw materials, research and development of new products, including regulatory approval and market acceptance; and industry conditions, including the seasonality and cyclicality of agricultural products.

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