ASC approves commodities giant's certification scheme
Grains and agricultural commodities giant COFCO International’s Responsible Agriculture Standard (COFCO Standard) has been included in the latest Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) Feed Standard Accepted Certification Schemes List published today.
COFCO, the largest state-owned agricultural group in China, is widely considered second only to Cargill as the largest agricultural commodity trader in the world.
It said the inclusion on the ASC list strengthens the role of the COFCO Standard in supplying certified sustainable feed ingredients to the aquaculture sector.
Stringent requirements
“The ASC label is widely used and recognised in the seafood industry, and has stringent requirements for aquafeed mills to comply with, including sourcing ingredients compliant with their criteria. The COFCO Standard is now recognised as an accepted pathway to meet these requirements,” said the company, which assets across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
“The recognition is expected to support further expansion of COFCO Standard-certified volumes in aquaculture-driven markets, particularly in Southeast Asia and Latin America, where demand for certified sustainable feed ingredients is growing.
“The COFCO Standard is designed to deliver farm-level traceability and responsibly produced commodities by supporting environmental and social practices, including deforestation- and conversion-free (DCF) sourcing, contributing to lower-carbon commodities and helping customers reduce emissions and other environmental impacts linked to the products they source.”
Big Ag's big 5
The COFCO Standard has already been independently benchmarked against the European Feed Manufacturers’ Federation (FEFAC) 2023 Soy Sourcing Guidelines and recognised by the Consumer Goods Forum’s Forest Positive Coalition as a credible approach to delivering DCF supply chains.
COFCO is one of five massive multinational “Big Agriculture” corporations that control an estimated 70% to 90% of the entire global trade in commercial grains and agricultural commodities. They are Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Bunge, Cargill, COFCO Corporation, and Louis Dreyfuss, collectively known as ABCCD in the industry.
