Another day, another deal by an agribusiness group.

On Wednesday Bunge, the world's top oilseeds processor, unveiled the acquisition of the edible oils and fats business of India's Amrit Bansapati, including the household food brands Amrit, Gagan and Ginni, in a $71m deal.

The deal is Bunge's second in less than two months, after the purchase of a 35% stake in Indonesia's Bumiraya Investindo to enter the palm oil production business.

And it is the latest in a pre-Christmas rash of agribusiness acquisitions, which also include the takeover of Landkom International by fellow former-Soviet-Union farm operator Alpcot Agro, unveiled on Tuesday, and the bidding battle for Norwegian farm equipment group Kverneland.

On Wednesday, Saudi Arabian dairy giant Almarai bought 12,000 hectares of Argentine land, beating curbs on foreign ownership being debated in parliament.

'Growing customer base'

Christopher White, the chief executive of Bunge's Asian business, said that the Amrit Bansapati acquisition "underscores Bunge's long-term commitment to growing our consumer food business in India".

He added: "It enables us to expand our distribution reach, manufacturing base and brand portfolio to serve a growing customer base."

The deal was set to "open up opportunities for synergistic collaboration with Bunge India". India is already, with Brazil, China, Europe and North America, one of Bunge's main centres in edible oil products.

Bunge is paying 2.207bn rupees ($42.0m) for the bulk of the Amrit Bansapati business, including a factory in Rajpura, Punjab.

It is further paying three Amrit Bansapati executives 470m rupees ($9.0m) in non-compete fees, with the trio undertaking not to work for rival operations for five years.

Bunge is also paying Amrit Corp, Amrit Bansapati's major shareholder which owns the Gagan trademark, 1.05bn rupees ($20.0m) for the brand.

Amrit Bansapati shares closed up 6.5% at 243.45 rupees on the Bombay stock exchange on Wednesday, with stock in 22.8% shareholder and "associate company" Amrit Corp soaring 18.5% to 301.30 rupees.

Bunge shares stood 2 cent higher at $57.40 in morning deals in New York.