China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corp. (COFCO) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank, have got together to try to make sure the farming of soybeans in Brazil is sustainable, COFCO says.

The Chinese state-owned commodities trader issued a written statement saying it will use geographical information, including satellite imagery, and official data to check that soybean farms in the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí and Bahia do not encroach on conservation areas or land used by indigenous people, and do not use forced labour.

The statement says COFCO and IFC expect to have checked by the end of next year 85 percent of the farmland in those states that supplies COFCO with soybeans, and to have checked 100 percent by 2023.

Brazilian company Agrosatélite is contributing its technical expertise, the COFCO statement says.