September 1, 2020

Muyuan cooperates with Chinese authorities over land probe

Muyuan Foodstuff Co., China's second-largest swine producer, said it is co-operating with local authorities on an investigation into acquisition of farmland to expand herds, BNN Bloomberg reported.

State radio reported last week that swine farm expansions in Nanyang city, Henan province had allegedly occupied farmland illegally from wheat farmers, threatening China's grain security. Henan is the country's number-one wheat-growing province, and Muyuan is based in Nanyang.

The company declined to comment on the legal status of the matter when asked by investors on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's official Wechat account, but said the investigation would have only a minor impact on its overall expansion. The company targets to expand swine breeding capacity to as many as 50 million head by end 2020, China Business News said in July.