Three Chinese grains companies visiting Brazil plan to open a soya trading firm that will buy directly from local producers and co-operatives, Chao En Hung, director of the Sao Paulo-based Solidez trading company, said late Monday.
Hung, who is assisting the Chinese firms - Huaken Cereal & Oil Co, Heibei Oil and Fat Co and Siwei - in Brazil, said the new trading company would be able to cut out middlemen such as Cargill Inc and Bunge Ltd when shipping to China.
In recent weeks, representatives of the Chinese firms have met with co-operatives such as Comigo, Carol, Ocepar and trading Maggi as well as producers in Lucas do Rio Verde, Mato Grosso, and Barreiras, Bahia, in search of possible suppliers.
"They want to buy soya directly from producers, so they have been talking with co-operatives," said Hung, who has been studying the opening of the trading house for three years.
The group is due to return to China on Tuesday to conclude the paperwork necessary to open the trading, which is expected to begin in March, mostly in Sao Paulo.