June 2, 2025

COFCO begins soy shipments to Mengniu Group

China's COFCO International has begun deliveries under its 1.5-million-tonne certified sustainable soybean agreement with Mengniu Group—a dairy company also based in China.

The first shipment of 69,000 tonnes of soybeans was loaded May 28 at the company's new STS11 terminal in Santos, Brazil.

The shipment is third-party verified as deforestation-and conversion-free (DCF) since Dec. 31, 2020, with on-farm audits ensuring sustainable water management, biodiversity conservation, and ethical labor standards in compliance with the COFCO International Responsible Agriculture Standard, Module 2.

The soybeans are destined for Modern Farming and China Shengmu Organic Milk, both subsidiaries of Mengniu Group, for use in sustainable dairy production, COFCO said. Deliveries will continue through 2030 under a mass balance chain of custody.

The agreement, announced in February, was developed through the World Economic Forum's Green Value Chain Taskforce.

COFCO International, the overseas agriculture arm of Beijing, China-based COFCO Corp., said it is committed to halting deforestation from soy and corn supply chains globally, and halting ecosystem conversion from soy and corn in South America, by 2025, in line with its SBTi-validated climate targets.

In 2024, COFCO International set new sustainability goals that reflected an increased ambition to address deforestation, climate and human rights.

-      World Grain.com