Joint venture to build Chinese soybean plant
partnership between the state and a US company.
State-owned grain company, Sinograin and agribusiness and food firm, Bunge are making the investment to meet rising demand driven by the ongoing commercialisation of the country's meat and feed industries. According to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) China's soybean consumption has risen at by 11 per cent, while meal and soybean oil has rise by 15 per cent since 2000. Christopher White, chief executive officer of Bunge Asia said he expects enterprise to make a valuable contribution to meeting the growing demand for food in an important region in China "Combining Bunge's global supply chain and risk management expertise with Sinograin's domestic distribution network will make this plant an efficient addition to the Chinese crushing industry," he said. The plant will have a daily processing capacity of 4000 metric tons of soybeans and will be connected via Sinograin's warehouses and conveyer systems Dongguan port. Construction of the plant, located between Guagzou and Hong Kong, is expected to be completed in late 2008. Bunge is a major supplier of soybean products to China, and acquired its first plant in the Rizhao in 2005, and a second in Nanjing in 2006. In April, Bunge announced it was entering into a joint venture with the Thai-based Charoen Pokphand Group to build another soybean processing plant in Tianjin, North East China.
