September 6, 2010

Sumitomo to support crop growing in China

Sumitomo Corp. has formed a partnership in growing and processing rice and corn with Jilin Grain Group Co., a government-affiliated firm in China's northeastern Jilin Province.

Sumitomo will supply advanced technology for processing locally grown corn and rice to food producers, including Japanese companies, which target the Chinese market, where demand for high-quality ingredients is rising.

The trading house will also provide fertiliser, pesticide and other supplies and growing methods to increase the size and quality of harvests. It wants to raise the amount of rice Jilin Grain handles annually from 300,000 tonnes to one million tonnes in a few years' time.

Sumitomo will support Japanese food makers looking to enter the Chinese market, helping them with such tasks as finding vendors and collecting payments. It will also push ahead with biomass research using corn stalks and rice straw.