Perdue AgriBusiness LLC recently signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Dandong Port Group Company and its affiliate, Dandong Pasite Grain and Oilseed Co. Ltd., to supply up to 29 million bushels of soy in a series of bulk shipments for the 2013 crop.
This was announced by Governor Bob McDonnell on Tuesday (Jun 4). The agreement was reached in Dandong, a major port city in the Liaoning Province in north-eastern China, in April during the Governor's trade and marketing mission to Asia.
Speaking about the expanded opportunity, Governor McDonnell said, "The decision to integrate agriculture into our overall economic development agenda continues to yield solid results for Virginia. When my team and I introduced Perdue and Dandong to each other in 2011, I knew their relationship had the potential to make China the Commonwealth's top agricultural export customer. That prediction came true last year and, largely due to the Perdue-Dandong relationship, our global agricultural exports reached an all-time high. I'm certain that our visit to Dandong last month solidified China's position for 2013 and beyond. In 2012, Virginia's agricultural exports reached a record US$2.61 billion. China was the leading market for Virginia's agricultural products, buying approximately US$638 million in farm and forest products from the Commonwealth. By comparison, China imported approximately US$170 million in agricultural products from Virginia in 2009.
"Governor McDonnell and his team have been invaluable in helping foster this mutually beneficial relationship, and we commend them for their efforts to grow Virginia exports," said Dick Willey, President of Perdue AgriBusiness. "We truly appreciate the partnership we have built with Dandong over the last two years and are pleased to support their growing processing capability by supplying soy and expertise in the coming year."
The new export commitments will help Dandong meet a rapidly increasing demand for soy in China. Dandong is scheduled to open a new soy crushing facility later this year, more than doubling its previous soy processing capacity. Perdue and Dandong signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) in 2011 and 2012 to explore future business opportunities and to improve the quality of animal feed stock produced by Dandong at its current and future processing facilities.
Perdue AgriBusiness is a producer of grain and oilseeds, processes oilseeds, custom blends feed ingredients, refines edible oil and trades a wide variety of agricultural commodities domestically and internationally. Perdue AgriBusiness is a direct exporter of US commodities through its deep-water port in Chesapeake, Va. Perdue AgriBusiness ventures touch diverse opportunities such as bio-energy, organic fertilisers and specialty livestock feeds. Perdue AgiBusiness is a division of Perdue Farms, the family-owned, family-operated company
The Dandong Port Group is a Hong Kong-based holding company that operates major port and infrastructure assets throughout Asia, including the Port of Dandong. Dandong Pasite Grain and Oilseed Co. Ltd. is the largest purchaser and processor of soy and grains in north-eastern China. Dandong and Dandong Pasite serve as key commercial links for grain, bulk commodities, and container shipments for China as well as northeast Asia.
