PARIS (Reuters) – COFCO International has committed to making its soy supply chain free of deforestation and land conversion by 2030 in environmentally sensitive regions of South America, including the Amazon and Cerrado, the Chinese-owned crop merchant said.
Like other global grain traders, COFCO International has previously pledged greater auditing of soybean crops to help stem land clearance in Brazil that is blamed for reducing biodiversity and contributing to global warming.
The 2030 target would cover the Amazon rainforest region, Brazil’s Cerrado savannah belt and the Gran Chaco zone, which spans parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay, COFCO International’s Chief Executive Wei (David) Dong said in a sustainability report published by the company on Monday.
U.S.-based Bunge has committed to eliminating deforestation in its overall supply chain by 2025, while some Brazilian firms have already announced their sourcing is deforestation-free.
COFCO International, based in Geneva and controlled by Chinese state food group COFCO Corp, also said it generated sales of $48 billion last year, up from $33 billion in 2020, and traded 133 million tonnes of crops against 131 million the previous year.
It did not disclose any profit figures.
Grain merchants have seen their financial results boosted by strong demand and rising commodity prices, and some expect another strong performance this year as war in Ukraine adds to supply tensions in staple crops.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz, Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan)
