COFCO Rice (Dalian) Co.,Ltd., located at DCT Dayaowan Dalian Port Container Terminal, and the first rice processing plant nearby port area in China, commenced its operation on November 14th 2009. With a total investment of about RMB 314 million and an annual rice processing capacity of 230,000 tons, this is the first project of COFCO　for its rice processing facility at the north eastern part of China. This project will not only initiate the industrialization of rice cropping in the area, but also facilitate the national objective of ‘grains from the North to the South’.

                                     

‘This is a vital shift of the focus of our bulk grain and oil business from export / trading with our overseas clients to fulfilling the local needs of our domestic customers.’ Said Mr. Ning Gaoning, Chairman of COFCO Corporation and China Agri, during the opening ceremony.

                                     

As the largest corporation of bulk grain and oil business in China, COFCO is dedicated to establishing a new business model to well serve clients from ‘fields to tables’ ”, as well as a complete product chain from crops to consumable products comprising plantation – sourcing and origination – trading and logistics–food ingredient – feedstock–slaughtering, food processing and production – sales and distribution. The processing plant in Dalian is one of the vital elements in this chain and model. ‘The commencement of the production of the rice processing facility in Dalian unveiled the investment plan of COFCO in the north eastern part of China. In the next couple of years, COFCO will leverage on this opportunity to explore the possible strategic move of rice processing as well as other food processing businesses in the area in order to rationalize our rice product chain and strengthen our rice supply capability.’ Mr. Ning further elaborated that in addition to COFCO Rice (Dalian) Co.,Ltd., COFCO was also planning other rice processing plants located at the areas with rich harvesting of paddy rice such as Suihua and Shenyang, and the expected annual production capacity of the plants would reach 200,000 tons in total.

                                     
North eastern area is one of the most important rice cropping bases in China. As upstream control capability is the key success factor for rice processing and production unit, COFCO’s investments will further anchorage its position in the area. Being perceived as the "Grant Warehouse in the Northern China’, Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces are the three largest grain supply bases of China, which account for about one-fifth of total grain output and a quarter for the total consumable grain , ranking the first in the nation. The north eastern part of China not only has become the main source of the food supply for the Southern China, it also plays a decisive role in the national food supply regime.

                                      
"COFCO has been speeding up the implementation of its strategic plan for the north eastern part of China. By forming strategic alliances with provincial governments and grain enterprises and working together with the corresponding provincial granaries and corporations for the upstream and downstream businesses, COFCO will facilitate the integration of rice industry and resolve the existing situation of ‘not in scale, scattered corporations, and poor product quality’. As a result, this will boost the growth of both domestic and overseas market demands’, said Mr. Patrick Yu, President of COFCO Corporation and Managing Director of China Agri. ‘More local farmers for rice cropping in the north eastern area of China will be benefited as well.’ He added.

To assure the stable supply of the raw grain for COFCO Rice (Dalian) Co.,Ltd., Rice Division of China Agri has signed the " COFCO- Dandong Yalu River Agricultural Co-operation of Joint Production" agreement with local cooperatives, in which ten thousand Chinese acres of paddy rice field located at the Huangcheng Village, Yiquan Town, Donggang City, are assigned as the production base. The base has been further expanded to the peripheral 14 villages and towns for the planting of premium rice crop. Currently, over 3,000 farmers and 48,500 Chinese acres of field are benefited from this project. In 2008, the cooperatives helped farmers enhance income by more than RMB 15 million in total. At present, the cooperatives are planning to develop an area of 300 thousand Chinese acres within 2 to 3 years for rice cropping in order to increase the revenue to RMB 100 million for domestic farmers.

"With years of hard work for the promotion of rice products cropped in the north eastern part of China to overseas markets and the southern China, COFCO’s active participation in rice grain processing and transportation in the north eastern China, through which high-quality rice in the area is sold to international markets and the southern China, has become an important sales channel of rice products there. As COFCO has contributed itself to protect domestic farmers’ revenue, serve local economy and promote large-scale rice cultivation and rice processing modernization, it has set up a good national example for the technological upgrading for rice processing industry as a whole”, praised by Zhang Xiaoqiang, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, who attended the opening ceremony. “It is the responsibility and obligation of governmental departments and state-owned grain enterprises to protect farmers’ returns, promote rice production in the north eastern part of China, and enliven the North-south grain transportation. COFCO Corporation, as China's largest grain and oil company, should take this opportunity and actively serve in the overall interests of national food control, make contributions to the North-south grain transportation for our state.” According to reports, ‘Fortune’ grain rice has become the designated and sole rice supplier for the World Expo. With the first bag of rice being off the assembly line and transported to the World Expo, COFCO Rice (Dalian) Co.,Ltd. will fully support the Shanghai World Expo with stable supply of premium rice products. “Dalian Rice Industries' biggest innovation lies in its processing plants to create a place of origin, rice processing factory nearby port and ‘logistics- marketing centre’ in the sales region, as the business model comprising the whole industry value chain”, said Yang Hong, “Taking the advantage of Dalian’s offshore transportation, COFCO will further enhance the production efficiency as a whole and reduce the time ‘from fields to tables’, so as the supply of the COFCO ‘Fortune’ Rice Expo Specified Rice to the Shanghai World Expo next year.”.

Ms. Zeng Liying, Deputy Director of National Food Authority, Mr. Huang Yaosheng, Deputy Director- General of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, Mr. Liu Xiaonan, Deputy Director of Economic and Trade, National Development and Reform Commission, Mr. Xu Weiguo, Provincial Standing Committee and Executive Vice Governor of Liaoning Province, Mr. Xia Deren, Liaoning Provincial Party Standing Committee, Dalian Municipal Party Committee Secretary, Mr. Li Wancai , Acting Mayor Dalian Municipal City, Mr. Liu Yanchun, Deputy Secretary-General of Jilin Provincial Government, Mr. Lv Weifeng, Vice Governor of Heilongjiang Province, Mr. Dong Zhongxin, Vice President of COFCO Corporation, Ms. Liu Ding, Chief of Discipline & Inspection, COFCO Committee of CPC Party , Ms. Wu Xiaohui, Chief Accountant of COFCO Corporation, Mr. Jiang Hua, Director of COFCO Corporation, Mr. Lv Jun, Assistant President of COFCO Corporation, Mr. Zhang Dongfeng, Assistant President of COFCO Corporation, Mr. Yin Jianhao, Director of Corporate Office of COFCO Corporation, Mr. Ma Jianping, Director of Strategy Department of COFCO Corporation and Mr. Li Jian, General Manager of COFCO Science and Research Institute, also attended the opening ceremony.