New terminal in Brazil strengthens China links

On the Atlantic coast in Santos, a bustling port city in Sao Paulo, Brazil's most populous state, China's leading food and agriculture company is launching a new terminal.

The facility is set to handle its first shipment of 1.5 million tons of certified sustainable soybeans bound for China.

China Oil and Foodstuffs Corp (COFCO) International has partnered with Modern Farming and China Shengmu Organic Milk, subsidiaries of dairy giant Mengniu Group, under a new long-term strategic deal that will extend to 2030.

Under the agreement, 1.5 million tons of certified sustainable soybeans will be shipped from COFCO International's new Santos export terminal to China.

"It shows that Chinese businesses are committing to sustainability by sourcing deforestation-free soybeans from Brazil," said Jack Hurd, executive director of the Tropical Forest Alliance, a World Economic Forum initiative that helps companies eliminate deforestation from their supply chains.

"This agreement is an example of Chinese companies stepping up, recognizing that protecting the tropics requires not just Western businesses but also Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Middle Eastern companies. This shows that China and its companies are committed to this sustainability agenda," Hurd told China Daily.

The agreement is part of the Green Value Chain Taskforce. It is the second order; the first was completed in May 2024.

Brazil has become a key supplier in China's push to diversify agricultural imports and secure supply amid the latter's rising trade tensions with the United States. Brazil now dominates China's soybean and corn imports, outpacing the US.

In January, COFCO reported that up to 75 percent of its soybeans came from Brazil, Bloomberg reported. China now accounts for more than 70 percent of Brazil's annual soybean exports.

Brazil is the world's largest soybean exporter. The US produces more soybeans, but Brazil exports more, partly because of its ability to grow multiple crops per year due to favorable weather, soil and water conditions, Hurd said.

The China-Brazil agricultural trade will likely become even more important due to Brazil's high agricultural productivity and China's demand for food imports, he said.

Key potential

Chunquan Zhu, head of Nature Initiatives for Greater China at the World Economic Forum, said the key potential of Brazil is the relatively high-yield priority of land.

"In Brazil, land is available — whether it's degraded land or previously converted wasteland, it can be restored or managed for agricultural production. Agriculture is also a crucial part of Brazil's economy, giving the country a relative advantage compared to other places," Zhu told China Daily.

COFCO forecasts that the new terminal in Santos will ship 8 million tons of agricultural products this year, including 5.5 million tons of soybeans and corn, and 2.5 million tons of sugar. In total, the company expects to ship as much as 18 million tons of soy and corn from Brazil in 2025, according to Bloomberg.

Hurd said he expects that the agribusiness relationship between Brazil and China will strengthen "because the agriculture sector in Brazil is quite strong — soy, beef, corn, things like that. It's got a very well-developed agriculture sector, and because of its climate, it's able to grow a lot of crops with multiple crops per year".

"I expect that the relationship will continue to strengthen between China and Brazil. China has a demand for something that Brazil has plenty of, and I think that there's probably a good working relationship between businesses," said Hurd.

In Brazil, individual producers are among the suppliers of sustainable soybeans. To be classified as "sustainable", soybeans must be verified by a third party as deforestation — and conversion-free. On-farm audits also ensure compliance with sustainable water management, biodiversity conservation and ethical labor standards.

China's policies focus on environmental protection, including commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement — such as reaching peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060, said Zhu.

"Last year, during the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, leaders reaffirmed China's long-term commitment to opening up and reforming international trade," he said.

"A key paragraph emphasized developing systems that align with international trade standards, guidelines, and protocols while greening global supply chains. Agriculture is an important part of this effort," Zhu said, adding that the soybean deal aligns with China's trade policies on sustainability.