Cofco International, China’s largest state-owned food processor, manufacturer and trader, is looking to increase its grain and soybean procurement as it continues to build its operations to rival other international agricultural traders, said the Financial Times.
The Chinese food group currently has a global trading network of over 50 countries and sources more than 40 million tons of grains and oilseeds a year. Cofco said it would like to increase the number to 60 million tons by 2022.
The company has also invested in
agricultural assets and port infrastructure to serve markets outside of China. Cofco
aims to double its purchases of grains from the Ukraine and Russia in 2019
compared to the year before.
With about 60% of Cofco’s global assets and 75% of its workforce in South
America, Cofco managed to capitalize on the US-China trade war, moving soybeans
from Brazil to China.