LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND — A top executive at COFCO International last week disclosed plans to double the company’s grain purchases in the Black Sea region, according to the Financial Times.

Johnny Chi, in a presentation at the FT Commodities Global Summit in Lausanne, told attendees that the company plans to double the volume of grains it sources from the Black Sea region. The initiative is part of a global expansion to serve markets beyond China.

“Our new ports in the Black Sea region primarily serve exports to Western Europe,” Chi said.

According to the Financial Times, COFCO sources more than 40 million tonnes of grain and oilseeds a year. Chi said the company wants to increase the total to more than 60 million tonnes by 2022, the newspaper noted.

Earlier this year, COFCO joined the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). The WBCSD describes itself as “a CEO-led organization of forward-thinking companies that galvanizes the global business community to create a sustainable future for business, society and the environment.”

“As a fast-growing global agri-business, we are committed to playing an integral part in the world’s food system over the long term, building on our core values of partnership and sustainability,” Chi said in February. “WBCSD offers a platform for further collaboration with stakeholders across various industries with the common goal of feeding a growing global population sustainably.”

With 12,000 people in 35 countries, COFCO International is the overseas agriculture business platform for COFCO Corp., a Chinese-based food agriculture company. The company handles more than 100 million tonnes of agricultural commodities each year.