COFCO Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

Chinese corn processor making fuel ethanol, starch and sweeteners

What COFCO Biotechnology does

COFCO Biotechnology buys corn and other farm crops and breaks them down into industrial and food ingredients. Its main outputs are alcohol — including fuel ethanol blended into gasoline, pharmaceutical and disinfectant-grade ethanol, and edible alcohol — plus corn starch, sweeteners like glucose and high fructose syrup, and animal feed made from the leftover corn parts. It also makes health-oriented extracts such as phytosterols and natural vitamin E, and biodegradable polylactic acid (PLA) plastic.

How COFCO Biotechnology makes money

It earns revenue by processing bulk corn into higher-value alcohol, starch, sweetener, feed and bio-material products sold to fuel blenders, food and beverage makers, pharmaceutical and feed customers. Profitability largely hinges on the spread between corn input costs and product prices, with fuel ethanol volumes tied to China's gasoline blending policy.

Products & services

• Denatured fuel ethanol
• Pharmaceutical ethanol, ethanol disinfectants and edible alcohol
• Edible corn starch
• Glucose, malt and high fructose syrup
• Corn germ meal, corn protein powder and distillers feed products
• Phytosterols, natural vitamin E capsules and corn crude oil
• Polylactic acid (PLA) biodegradable products