Fufeng Group
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food additives, Chemicals |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Binzhou , China |
Area served | Asia, Europe, Americas |
Key people | Li Xuechun (CEO) |
| Products | Monosodium glutamate (MSG), xanthan gum, flavour enhancers, fertilizer, starch, sugar substitutes, citric acid, sodium bicarbonate |
Fufeng Group () stands as the foremost privately held producer of monosodium glutamate (MSG) and ranks second in xanthan gum manufacturing within mainland China. Its range of products encompasses flavour enhancers, xanthan gum, fertilizer, starch, and sugar substitutes. Founded in 1999 and based in Binzhou, Shandong Province, China, the company is headed by CEO Li Xuechun. Fufeng maintains a broad international presence, with operations spanning Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Its offerings are sold under the "Weifang Fufeng" label, which also includes other food additives like citric acid and sodium bicarbonate. The company’s shares are publicly traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
History
Established in 1999, Fufeng went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 8 February 2007. Not long after its initial public offering, the company issued a profit warning triggered by escalating corn costs, resulting in its stock price dropping below the IPO level.
North Dakota plant
In 2022, plans for a Fufeng facility in Grand Forks, North Dakota encountered resistance due to national security apprehensions. Opponents pointed to the firm’s connections with the Government of China, labor issues linked to Xinjiang, and the plant’s location near Grand Forks Air Force Base. There were fears that the site could be exploited for signals intelligence or electronic warfare activities.
The United States-China Economic and Security Review Commission alongside members of the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence urged a review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). In September 2022, construction was halted by Grand Forks’ mayor pending further federal evaluation.
Following this, the House Appropriations Committee incorporated a prohibition on Chinese farmland acquisitions within its 2023 budget legislation. In January 2023, the United States Air Force identified the plant as a "significant threat to national security." On February 7, 2023, city officials in Grand Forks unanimously refused to grant infrastructure and building permits for the corn milling project, effectively stopping development while permitting property ownership.