Chinese food giant on hunt for mergers, acquisitions in bid for global food chain

BEIJING - China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp, commonly referred to as COFCO, is officially “on the hunt” for international merger partners and acquisition targets as it deals with a massive surplus in domestic grain stocks, according to the China Daily. COFCO President, Yu Xubo, said the company will concentrate on firms that can help solve food shortages at home, allowing it to develop a global supply chain.

Yu cited oilseed, such as soybean and rapeseed, and animal feed as its main focus, with China’s grain inventory already at record highs, including an estimated 250 million metric tonnes of corn after 12 consecutive years of increased production.

 COFCO’s prime target markets are the South and North Americas, as well as areas along the Black Sea in Europe: “With an adequate supply of staple foods domestically, we will shift our focus to sectors that are in demand in China,” Yu said on the sidelines of the G20 Agricultural Entrepreneurs Forum in Xi’an.

Despite surpluses, however, Yu said China still faces a long-term grain shortage due to shrinking farmland and over-stretched water resources.  www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).