Global agribusiness COFCO International has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Thai edible oil company Thanakorn Vegetable Oil Products to expand trade in certified sustainable soyabeans and soya-based products.
As part of the MoU, the companies aimed to establish the COFCO International Responsible Agriculture Standard (COFCO Standard) as the reference framework for their bilateral trade and, over time, transition most volumes into COFCO Standard-certified supply, COFCO said on 9 June.
The standard is applicable to products including soyabeans, corn, and soyabean oil, meal and hull pellets, and can be used in a mass balance model at site- or country-level.
COFCO and Thanakorn said they also planned to collaborate on digital and data-driven tools, including satellite monitoring and traceability systems, to strengthen transparency and track sustainability performance across the soyabean supply chain.
Signed at COFCO International’s headquarters in Geneva on 9 June, the MoU built on Thanakorn’s certified soyabean shipments from Brazil that began in 2025.
COFCO International said it was scaling supply certified under its COFCO Standard, which supports the production of traceable, lower-carbon commodities by ensuring no land use change since 2020, while also promoting the adoption of nature positive on-farm practices and respect for human and labour rights.
The standard also helped customers reduce emissions linked to the products they sourced and fulfil their responsible sourcing commitments.
COFCO International’s certified volumes of grains and oilseeds sourced in South America increased by 46% in 2025, with flows to Asia increasing, including China, Thailand, Bangladesh and Vietnam.
According to its website, TVOP specialises in the production and distribution of edible oils and related products, including soyabean, sunflower and canola oil; animal feed ingredients including soyabean and sunflowerseed meal; and other products including lecithin-feed grade, lecithin food-grade, crude soyabean acid oil and soyabean oil deodoriser distillates.
