Chinese company helping fend off world hunger

Supporting South Africa

Johan Steyn, managing director for sub-Saharan Africa at COFCO International, a subsidiary of COFCO Corp, said that the company entered South Africa in 2016.

Since then, through the implementation of advanced farming models and technology, COFCO International has supported the continuous improvement of yields, contributing to food security and supply in the country.

"Even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, COFCO International continued giving support and facilitating activities to ensure that the food supply chain did not break down and that the South African people had access to safe and affordable food," he said.

COFCO International South Africa employs 390 people and trades more than 2 million metric tons of grains and oilseeds annually. Its operation in South Africa is supported through three primary commercial activities.

First, it operates the largest soybean processing facility in the country, with an annual capacity of more than 420,000 tons. It also participates in commercial partnerships with South African farmers in the cultivation of approximately 71,000 hectares on which it produces roughly 327,000 tons of produce that are sold to domestic and foreign markets.

"We also help in the provision of affordable food and animal feed. Our farming operations supplied more than 320,000 tons of produce last year, while our processing operations were responsible for the supply of over 330,000 tons," Steyn said.

"Additionally, we help the South African agricultural industry with price discovery, which is critical to achieving a balance between the supply and demand of products, and we assist the market in achieving this goal, which aids the security of food supply."

Steyn added that COFCO International South Africa has made significant efforts to support rural economic development and improve livelihoods, including by renovating centers to help vulnerable groups and donating food to disadvantaged areas in which the company's offices are based. For example, in Standerton, where the COFCO crushing plant is located, funds were directed toward improving an orphanage and an elderly care facility.

"We have also partnered with an organization that provides training and on-farm support," he said.

Cooperation is key

Chen Yangfen, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences' Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, said that China's exchanges and cooperation in the agricultural sector have deepened over the years, and opening-up has also increased.

"China's bilateral and multilateral agricultural cooperation and scientific and technological exchanges with key countries, regions and international organizations have also achieved remarkable results, contributing greatly to world agricultural development," he said.

Dong Wei, CEO of COFCO International, said that the company has built a global supply chain network of bulk agricultural products covering about 100 countries and regions, with 11,500 overseas employees and more than $14 billion in assets.

COFCO International is present throughout the industrial chain, including farming operations involving grains and oilseeds in South Africa and sugar cane in Brazil, as well as in the storage, processing, logistics, sales, and trade and distribution of products worldwide. These mainly include grains, oilseeds, sugar, cotton and coffee, and annual trading volume exceeds 100 million tons, Dong said.

"COFCO International mainly sources agricultural products from major global food production areas, such as South America, North America and the Black Sea region, and sells them to countries and regions including China, the Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, establishing a global logistics system between food production areas and sales areas," he said.