A canola oil joint venture launched by Singapore's Viterra Asia Pte Ltd and China's Fangchenggang Maple Edible Oil Co has started operation in Zhuang Autonomous Region of Guangxi province.

The joint venture, which involves a total investment of RMB340 million (US$53 million), is expected to produce 600,000 tonnes of canola and 240,000 tonnes of canola oil annually.

Besides the Viterra project, there are three other similar projects underway in Guangxi, which together yield 6,000 tonnes of canola a day. One of them is owned by COFCO Group, China's largest grain and oil dealer.

These projects are expected to improve the rapeseed processing capacity in Guangxi province to nearly 8,000 tonnes a day.