China's Cofco likely to sit out global grains race as it digests acquisitions

London

AS the world trade in farm commodities faces a shake-up, one of the groups widely expected to play a leading role - China's Cofco - will probably have to sit out the industry consolidation after all.

Sources with knowledge of Cofco's expansion strategy say the state-run conglomerate is struggling to integrate businesses it bought three years ago, deals which made it a significant global agricultural trader but are now hindering its ability to swoop on rivals.

Illustrating the problems, the sources said that at times different arms of the agribusiness had…