KUNMING, July 23 (Xinhua) — In the economic park of Mile City, Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Japanese agency Rexxam Co., Ltd. is nurturing a “sweet harvest,” turning native ample molasses sources right into a thriving yeast trade.
The firm has not too long ago damaged floor on a brand new manufacturing facility, which is ready to provide 20,000 tonnes of yeast yearly for meals and prescribed drugs.
Yeast, a microorganism, has lengthy been a key participant in human actions similar to brewing and baking. Rich in protein, nutritional vitamins and minerals, yeast presents many well being advantages and is now broadly utilized in meals, drugs, well being care and cosmetics.
Molasses, a by-product of sugar manufacturing from sugarcane, is the first uncooked materials for yeast manufacturing. It takes about 5 tonnes of molasses to provide 1 tonne of yeast. Yunnan is China’s second-largest sugarcane manufacturing base, accounting for about 20 p.c of the nation’s complete sugar output.
According to statistics from Kunming Customs, in 2024, Yunnan exported practically 22,000 tonnes of energetic yeast, a year-on-year improve of 11.8 p.c, to 59 nations and areas worldwide.
“Yunnan’s rich and low-cost molasses resources offer Rexxam a stable and sustainable raw material advantage. This not only supports industrial waste valorization but also brings both economic and environmental benefits,” mentioned Jia Yankun, consultant of Rexxam’s Kunming workplace.
Founded in 1960, Rexxam has been working in China for practically three a long time since its entry in 1995. It is likely one of the longest-standing and most energetic Japanese traders within the area.
Starting with wooden processing and flower cultivation, the corporate regularly shifted its focus to the biofermentation trade, aiming to develop a “sweet industry chain” centered on molasses.
In 2014, Rexxam constructed a yeast manufacturing line in Baoshan City, Yunnan, with an annual capability of 5,000 tonnes. The manufacturing facility primarily produces yeast merchandise as feed, supplying yeast hydrolysates and yeast selenium to a number of massive home feed corporations. These merchandise are additionally exported to Japan, Southeast Asia, Europe and different nations and areas.
The success of the Baoshan challenge has strengthened Rexxam’s confidence in increasing its yeast enterprise in China.
“We value not only Yunnan’s raw material resources but also the increasingly open and inclusive business environment and the improving industrial infrastructure here,” Jia added.
In June, on the ninth China-South Asia Expo, Rexxam signed a cooperation settlement with Mile City to take a position 700 million yuan (about 98 million U.S. {dollars}) within the new plant. The first part, with a capability of 5,000 tonnes, is predicted to start out manufacturing in early 2027.
“The new plant will represent a significant upgrade in terms of production scale, product variety and overall facilities compared to our existing Baoshan factory,” Jia mentioned.
In the general plan for the brand new Mile manufacturing facility, Rexxam additionally intends to recycle the natural wastewater generated throughout yeast manufacturing into high-efficiency natural fertilizer, which is able to then be offered freed from cost to native farmers for the cultivation of sugarcane and different crops.
Not simply Rexxam from Japan, however an growing variety of foreign-invested enterprises from nations and areas such because the United States, Australia and Thailand are selecting to take root in China’s southwestern area, driving rural revitalization.
Statistics present that, as of now, enterprises from 114 nations and areas world wide have invested in Yunnan, establishing a complete of seven,105 foreign-invested enterprises and using 24.98 billion U.S. {dollars} in precise international capital.
China’s dedication to open up has boosted international funding. According to knowledge from the Ministry of Commerce, from January to May 2025, China noticed 24,018 new foreign-invested enterprises established, representing a ten.4 p.c year-on-year improve.
A survey by the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China exhibits that greater than half of the surveyed corporations plan to “increase” or “maintain” their funding in China in 2025.