Arkansas Orders Chinese-Owned Company to Sell Farmland, Pay Fine

The move was made under state Act 636, which bars certain foreign entities from owning farmland in Arkansas.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders speaks during the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, Calif., on May 2, 2023. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

A Chinese-owned seed producer must sell 160 acres of farmland that it owns in the northeastern part of Arkansas under a state law restricting foreign ownership of agricultural land, officials said on Oct. 17.

Northrup King Seed Co. is a subsidiary of Syngenta Seeds, which is owned by China National Chemical Corp. (ChemChina), a Chinese Communist Party-owned firm.