COFCO, China’s largest agricultural trading and processing company, will buy a 4.95% stake in US pork producer Smithfield Foods, Reuters reported. Smithfield said COFCO would buy 7 million shares of Smithfield’s common stock in a move that is expected to help COFCO expand in China’s pork industry. A spokesperson for the Chinese firm said the investment was not intended to increase pork imports, but that COFCO intends to learn from Smithfield’s technology and management expertise. While Chinese pork prices have begun to stabilize, sharp rises earlier in the year drove overall food price increases, raising China’s consumer price index and contributing to inflationary concerns.
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