Commodity giant Glencore, who could not obtain results from several attempts to acquire a company in the grain industry last year, will continue its attempts to strengthen its mergers and acquisitions in the coming period.

Commodities giant Glencore has made unsuccessful moves for three or four smaller targets in the grain sector this year as it seeks acquisitions to grow upstream, Reuters reported.“We have looked at three or four possibilities in our core area already this year but couldn’t reach agreement with the seller,” Chris Mahoney, chief executive of Glencore Agriculture, told the Global Grain conference in Geneva. He did not give further details or mention international trader Bunge, for which Glencore made an informal approach this year, a move fanning speculation that the grain trading industry was set for large-scale consolidation. Glencore remained focused on acquisitions for growth, and saw scope for consolidation in the grain sector due to excess capacity, Mahoney said. Glencore would concentrate on upstream, export-focused assets such as grain handling and crushing assets, rather than look at downstream activities, he said. Bunge rejected Glencore’s approach and later announced a deal to buy a 70 percent stake in Malaysian palm oil producer IOI Loders Croklaan for $946 million. Bunge is part of the so-called ABCD quartet of global agricultural commodity traders that also includes Archer Daniels Midland, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus. Glencore became a major international grain trader through its 2012 takeover of Canadian based Viterra.