On April 8th, a freight train carrying 500 tons of Russian spring wheat imported by COFCO arrived at Manzhouli land port in the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region after covering a long distance of 2,700 kilometers. This is the first bulk shipment of Russian wheat to enter China in a market-oriented manner via the land port after the two countries signed protocols on quarantine inspection requirements for exporting Russian agricultural products including wheat to China.
COFCO assistant president & chairman of COFCO Trading Peng Anqiao regarded this as an effective attempt by COFCO Corporation to refine and implement the “Belt and Road” initiative, speed up its pace to spread its footprints along the “Belt and Road”, and accelerate the expansion of its agro-products trade cooperation with Russia and construction of overseas grain source system so as to continuously boost its international competitiveness.
This shipment of Russian spring wheat grown in Krasnoyarsk region has been subject to rigorous quality control inspection in according to COFCO Corporation’s quality system. It is suitable to be processed into special flour of medium and high grade since its major quality indexes including unit weight, gluten content and stability are proved to be excellent. The Russia-based subsidiary company of COFCO Agri under COFCO Corporation has procured the wheat by tapping into its own overseas grain source system. COFCO Trading is responsible for import and distribution to the Chinese market. In the future the volume of wheat trade between China and Russia is expected to reach new scale if Russia can ensure stable quality and continuous supply of wheat. The imported Russian spring wheat will also become a beneficial supplement to the raw material of quality high-gluten flour in Northern China, which will further enrich the supply of quality varieties in China’s wheat market.
