Chapter 1173 William's Request

Xiao Peng really didn't want to go with William, but he really couldn't stand the old king playing rogue - in the end William still went on the road with him, but this lineup made Xiao Peng speechless: two Mercedes-Benz G-Class in front, a Ferrari 458 in the back, a Spyker behind that, and finally three Mercedes-Benz G-Classes.

This has become a convoy!

Fortunately, William's own Maybach did not come along, otherwise the convoy would be even longer.

Xiao Peng was driving with a helpless look on his face, but William was excitedly saying from the passenger seat, "It's this kind of spontaneous trip that feels the best!"

Xiao Peng pointed to the lane ahead. "Tell me where's the best place to go? Who can afford to go on a spontaneous trip with so many bodyguards?"

William laughed and said, "Xiao, you have quite a few bodyguards!"

Xiao Peng's eyes widened as he asked, "How can that be the same? They came with me just to have fun!"

"Me too! I'm also out with my bodyguard." William said, "Okay, Xiao, I have a question that I'd like you to help me with."

"Oh?" Xiao Peng was stunned by William's serious expression: "What's the matter?"

William said, "Here's the thing. Do you know the Louis Dreyfus Group?"

Xiao Peng smiled and said, "I've lived in France for so long, how could I not know Louis Dreyfus? Especially since I just came back from West Africa. What's going on?"

Louis Dreyfus Group has a very high status in France.

France is one of the two countries in Europe that attaches the most importance to agriculture (the other is the Netherlands). Since the Middle Ages, France has actually been an agricultural country.

The best example of their emphasis on agriculture is Louis Dreyfus Company.

Louis Dreyfus is known as one of the world's "Four Major Grain Traders". The other three are Bunge, Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland Group. Those three are large American joint-stock companies, while Louis Dreyfus is a family business.

William continued to ask: "Then do you know the 'Netherlands Group'?"

Xiao Peng thought for a moment and said, "I know this. It's the largest agricultural group in the Netherlands. Why are you asking?"

Speaking of which, Xiao Peng admires the Netherlands quite a bit.

You should know that the Netherlands' natural conditions aren't ideal for agriculture. Its latitude is quite high, roughly the same as Mohe's. However, due to its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and the influence of the warm current, it's not as cold as Mohe, making it a warm winter and cool summer place. However, it rains a lot! Sunny days are extremely rare here, earning it the nickname "grey sky." It seems like it rains for more than half of the 365 days of the year, though the rain is light and often consists of showers, but it rains constantly.

Such a climate is naturally not suitable for agricultural growth.

Furthermore, they are a "lowland country" with only 15 million mu of arable land in the entire country. How does that even begin to make sense? That's roughly the same amount of arable land as Ningxia Province. However, due to weather conditions, their peak grain production is only about half of Ningxia's.

But Dutch agriculture is truly amazing. In 2019, the total value of their agricultural exports reached 94.5 billion euros, ranking second in the world after the United States!

The fact that the Netherlands can generate such good agricultural foreign exchange with such little arable land is inseparable from its agricultural transformation.

The Netherlands is a major agricultural exporter and food importer. Their country's food self-sufficiency rate can only reach 25%, and the remaining 75% is imported.

They import grain while exporting agricultural products, with their agricultural production concentrated on high-value-added vegetables and flowers. Their exported agricultural products are mainly flowers, meat, dairy, eggs, vegetables and fruits, while their imports are grain.

This actually makes the people of Daxia very envious.

The people of Daxia were not unaware of the benefits of agricultural and sideline industries, but they could not fully develop them. After all, food was the primary need of the people, and it was imperative that the critical mass of food be able to meet basic needs.

The global pandemic is a prime example: Due to the pandemic, the entire country of Daxia was shut down for an extended period. Yet, during that time, the people did not starve, something that many developed countries could not achieve. This was made possible by reliable food reserves.

China Grain Group has made an indelible contribution.

William said, "I used to be one of the shareholders of the Netherlands Group."

Xiao Peng's face was filled with black lines: "Hey, William, what do you mean? Are you here to show off how rich you are?"

William shook his head and said, "No, no, no, didn't you hear what I said just now? I meant it! The Netherlands Group has been sold to your Hualiang Group."

Xiao Peng whistled. Hualiang Group was not among the four major grain traders, but in fact, Hualiang Group could be ranked among the top four in terms of both ownership and sales. However, it faced many difficulties in expanding its overseas market: for example, West Africa.

West African countries basically rely on imported food to survive.

Speaking of this, it’s really helpless.

For example, Nigeria. If Chinese farmers went there, they would be really envious: the land is really fertile, and whether it is the climate or the soil, it can be said to be one of the most suitable countries in the world for agricultural development.

What happened to them? They basically had to import food.

Their agriculture is still basically based on traditional small-scale peasant economy, which cannot compete with large-scale mechanized agricultural planting in terms of cost. Local farmers work hard to farm but find that it is not as cheap as importing food, so they simply give up agriculture and develop the energy industry on a large scale. The result is that as long as foreign countries stop exporting food to them, they will suffer from famine.

During the global pandemic, thousands of people in their country looted government granaries - there was nothing they could do about it, as many people died of hunger during that time. This also happened in other West African countries.

Controlling a country's food is basically equivalent to controlling everything in that country.

The "Big Four Grain Traders", especially Louis Dreyfus Company, basically control the food supply of West African countries. That is their main market, and a large amount of food is shipped to West African countries every year.

China's way of seizing the West African market is to break in and occupy the market by teaching them agricultural techniques.

William continued, "In fact, I also have a partnership with the Louis Dreyfus family. Of course, such investments are not something that can be revealed to outsiders."

Xiao Peng nodded. "The Dutch royal family, they're used to making fortunes quietly. Hey, William, what do you want to say? The Netherlands Group and Louis Dreyfus Group."

When William heard what Xiao Peng said, he stated his purpose: "Xiao, I know you have a good relationship with the Daxia government. I want you to help me promote a batch of seeds into the Daxia market!"