Agricultural Cooperaiton and the ‘One Belt One Road’ initiative
The conclusion of the Seminar on Agriculture Cooperation under One Belt One Road Strategy has highlighted significant opportunities for the Agricultural sector along the New Silk Road Economic Belt, with China’s agricultural cooperation with foreign countries set to develop rapidly over the next few years. According to researchers who spoke at the event, China has accumulated advanced technologies around agriculture due to its vast territory and long agricultural civilization, which countries along the One Belt One Road, such as Central Asian states and Russia, have the potential to benefit from greatly. Speakers specified areas such as plantation and cultivation under various climatic conditions as particular areas of expertise in the Chinese agricultural industry and therefore potential areas for cooperation with One Belt One Road participants. Click here for the full article.
Chinese shares in Nufarm spark speculation
Zhang Hua, chairman of Fuhua Group, one of China’s biggest glyphosate producers, has stated that he has obtained a 5.16 percent stake in Nufarm, an Australian crop protection group. Mr Zhang indicated to the Australian Securities Exchange that the transaction was intended as a financial transaction with the flexibility to increase or decrease the holding ‘from time to time’ rather than a tactical move to secure control and influence in Nufarm. Mr Zhang has been a shareholder of Nufarm for a few years, yet remained under the 5 percent share threshold, meaning he was exempt from publicly declaring his stakes. Despite the statement of assurance from Mr Zhang, and a Nufarm spokeswoman’s reiteration, speculation of future global industry consolidation has arisen. Click here for the full article.
Chinese 2016-2017 soy imports exceed expectations
US officials have noted ‘unrelenting growth’ in Chinese demand of oilseed this year. The US Department of Agriculture’s Beijing bureau claimed that the global lead in soybean purchasing is set to acquire a record 84.5m tonnes of the oilseed. This figure is higher than USDA’s original prediction of 83.0m tonnes, and has led the bureau to state that soybean imports will continue on an upward trend. They claimed this to be resultative of rising Chinese affluence, urbanisation and expanding consumer preferences. This rising demand has been coupled with China’s own stunted soybean production borne from low subsidies for oilseed crops and an absence of the latest seed technology. Click here for the full article.
Chinese Company targets agribusiness firms in Germany and USA
The Chinese Yuanda Enterprise Group from Shenyang is seeking opportunities in the coming year to acquire several advanced agribusiness companies from Germany and the United States. With the aim of improving its performance in renewable crop resource utilization and agricultural environment protection and following the successful acquisition of Israeli agribusiness AutoAgronom Ltd last year, Yuanda is broadening its horizons and searching for more overseas prospects. Currently Yuanda has four large-scale manufacturing plants situated in Shenyang, Chengdu, Foshan and Shanghai as well as a strong market presence in Africa, Latin America, Russia and Europe. Click here for the full article.