Bost and Budzinski question Chinese company's purchase of Metro East grain terminal

Illinois' local congressional delegation asked the U.S. Treasury Secretary on Thursday to examine the recent sale of a stake in a grain terminal on the Mississippi River to a company affiliated with the Chinese government.

U.S. Reps. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, and Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, expressed concern for national security over the sale of Growmark Inc.'s location in Cahokia Heights to COFCO International, which closed last week .

"China is attempting to buy up America's commercial infrastructure and farmland at a breakneck pace," Bost said . "The economic and national security implications are far too great to allow that to happen."

The federal lawmakers' move reflects a growing trend. In recent years, U.S. officials in both major political parties have grown skeptical of foreign ownership of farmland or agricultural properties.

The COFCO Corporation — the China Oil and FoodStuffs Corp. — is the "leader of the Chinese agricultural industry," according to the company's website. At the end of 2023, the Beijing-based firm's assets totaled more than $100.5 billion.

Bost and Budzinski said COFCO is "China's largest state-run food and agriculture company" in their letter.

The deal for the Mississippi River terminal came as part of a trade between the two companies.

COFCO purchased Growmark's minority stake in the Cahokia Heights loading facility, according to a statement from COFCO posted last week. Growmark received ownership of a grain warehouse on the Calumet River near downtown Chicago.

"We plan to continue investing in our U.S. business, and we intend to pursue additional opportunities focused on supporting our U.S. Gulf and Pacific Northwest export strategy," said Zhijun Shi, chief operating officer for COFCO International in North America, in a statement last week.

COFCO originally built the Cahokia Heights terminal in 2017. Growmark, a farmer-owned cooperative based in Bloomington, Illinois, purchased a small interest in the terminal , according to a statement at the time of sale. Since, the two companies jointly operated the facility.

"By attempting to convert ownership solely to the Chinese-owned COFCO and eliminating this partnership, we are concerned that this transaction will pose a threat to U.S. national security on America's largest inland waterway," Bost and Budzinski wrote.

The Metro East grain terminal has access to high-speed rail and truck-to-barge loading facilities. It also has access to all seven of North America's biggest railroads.

COFCO could not immediately be reached, and Growmark declined to comment.

Bost and Budzinski in their letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who is also the chair of the Treasury Department's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, said she should look further into this acquisition "to fully understand the scope and implications of this transaction on our national security."

In all, the company now owns more than six locations in the U.S.