China Creates Agriculture Giant With Grain, Cotton Merger

Industry news

China Creates Agriculture Giant With Grain, Cotton Merger

1. Sinograin, Cotton Reserves Corp. merger to help cut stockpiles

2. China holds about half of world's corn, cotton inventories

The State Council approved China National Cotton Reserves Corp.'s merger with China Grain Reserves Corp., known as Sinograin, China Central Television reported. The new company will have combined assets of 1.47 trillion yuan (US$ 213 billion), according to the report.

China has pledged to overhaul its state-owned enterprises as part of its supply-side reforms and is seeking to speed up sales of its crop reserves. It holds about half of the world's corn and cotton inventories and has large reserves of wheat, rice and edible oils after state support systems encouraged farmers to boost production and some mills shifted to cheap imports. The government last year ended its corn stockpile policy and has said it is improving its minimum purchase price policy for wheat and rice to boost efficiency.

In July, China's State Council approved the merger of Chinatex Corp. and Cofco Corp. China is planning to merge Sinochem Group and China National Chemical Corp., a person familiar with the matter said in October.