A report by the General Administration of Customs made foreign grain merchants once again a focus topic. In this import and export early warning report, the Statistics Department of the General Administration of Customs named foreign grain merchants as "trying to monopolize". Fengyi International responded in a low-key way, saying that it was only a pilot project of Jiamusi circular economy and there was no monopoly. Origin: Foreign investment of $3 billion to buy Northeast soybeans?
The Customs report first talked about the rebound of China's grain export volume, and then changed the topic in the section "Issues worthy of attention in China's grain production and export" and named the Singapore listed company Wilmar International. According to the report, Wilmar International invested heavily in Northeast China in an attempt to monopolize the domestic non-GM soybean market. However, the report did not discuss the details. The insiders believe that the "massive investment in Northeast China" mentioned in the report should refer to the rumor that "Wilmar International spent $3 billion to acquire Northeast soybeans" in August 2008.
Response: Wilmar International denies monopoly.
"We have just made a pilot project of circular economy in Jiamusi, Heilongjiang Province, and there is no monopoly in the industry." Yesterday, a contact in Yihai Kerry, a subsidiary of Wilmar International, who asked not to be named, responded to this newspaper in a low-key manner.
Yihai (Jiamusi) Cereals and Oils Company was established in 2005, responsible for the northeast business of Fengyi International, and involved in a series of deep processing of rice, soybeans and corn. It invested 50 million yuan to set up a food company, specializing in the production of soybean powder, soybean milk drinks and so on.
Viewpoint: Foreign capital wants to strengthen upstream control.
"Northeast soybeans are mainly acquired by Jiusan Oil." Chen Lina, a researcher at Oriental Iger Agricultural Consulting Company, told this newspaper that the price of soybeans in Northeast China is high, and coastal crushing plants make more money by using imported soybeans to extract oil, while Fengyi International's acquisition of soybeans in Northeast China should be based on long-term planning, hoping to strengthen the control of the upstream.
However, Chen Lina expressed doubts about foreign investment of $3 billion to buy soybeans in northeast China. She believes that such a large sum of money will definitely boost the price of soybeans, but at present, the overall price of soybeans is falling, and it will only rise after the state introduces a policy of raising the purchase price.
Li Guoxiang, a researcher at the Institute of Rural Development of the China Academy of Social Sciences, believes that the purpose of the early warning of the General Administration of Customs is to "take soybeans as a mirror and be alert to the influx of foreign capital in major grain products such as rice, wheat and corn"
Li Guoxiang believes that more than 60% of soybean processing is controlled by multinational companies, and the prices of soybean edible oil and feed are also greatly influenced by multinational companies, which has greatly fluctuated, damaging the interests of soybean farmers and storage enterprises. He suggested that the government should strengthen its intervention in other foods and support large enterprises such as COFCO and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Foreign voice: Concerns about foreign grain merchants have been amplified.
Ge Nuoren, chairman and president of Cargill China, another international grain supplier, told this reporter that the annual soybean demand in China is about 50 million tons, of which160,000 tons is made in China, of which120,000 tons is used for food, with a gap of 30 million tons. In addition, "the sum of soybean crushing capacity of Yihai Kerry, Cargill and Bunge in China (the proportion of total capacity) is about 50%, not 70% as the outside world said." Ge Noren told this reporter that the concerns of foreign grain merchants have been magnified.