The Governments of Argentina and China formalized this Wednesday (11.09.2019) the Protocol of sanitary and phytosanitary requirements for the export of Argentine soybean meal to the Asian country, after 20 years of negotiations between both countries.
The activity took place at the headquarters of the Secretariat of Agroindustry in the city of Buenos Aires, where the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, Luis Miguel Etchevehere, presented the agreement together with the Chinese ambassador to Argentina, Zou Xiaoli.
Minister Etchevehere described the agreement as a "historic achievement" and highlighted the strong bilateral relationship that has been strengthened over the past two years with the signing of some 12 health protocols aimed at expanding trade.
«We signed the sanitary protocol for soy flour with Chinese Customs, thus achieving the opening of the Chinese market for the export of this product (…) we know that this is a historic achievement because we have worked very hard, we have wanted to open this market for more than 20 years», the official explained to the media present.
The minister highlighted China as a vital market as it is the world's largest consumer of vegetable protein, while Argentina is the world's leading exporter of soy flour.
«Bilateral cooperation in the agroindustry plays a key role in the comprehensive partnership between our countries», said Etchevehere, who also asserted that "we still see room for further growth in the relationship."
The agro-industrial sector represents 85 percent of Argentina's exports to China, contributing approximately $3.000 billion in revenue in 2018, according to data from the Ministry.
In the last two years, health protocols have been signed to expand the trade of food and products such as grapes, blueberries, beef, pancreatic products, semen and embryos, honey, live horses, sheep and goat meat, among others.
For his part, the Argentine Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Jorge Faurie, said that the agreement has "a particular symbolism" since "We are the world's leading exporter of soy flour and China is a producer that needs Argentine soy flour."
«This sector that we have now has a singular importance for our foreign trade, for our agricultural sector and for bilateral relations with China., he said.
In addition to being the world's leading exporter of soybean meal to more than 50 destinations, Argentina ranks first in foreign sales of soybean oil and third in soybean grains.
The main buyers of vegetable flour from Argentina are the European Union (EU), Vietnam, Indonesia, Algeria, Malaysia and Australia.
For its part, China imports 92 percent of the soybeans produced in Argentina.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, the country has exported some 4,3 million tons of soybeans to China this year, equivalent to 80 percent of total shipments abroad.
Trade volume between Argentina and China reached US$16.280 billion last year, an increase of 18,2 percent year-on-year. China is Argentina's second-largest trading partner and the largest destination country for agricultural products.
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