March 12, 2008

Argentina, China reach agreement on soy shipment standards 

Argentina and China reached an agreement regulating treatment of Argentine shipments of soy containing seeds from the datura ferox weed, Argentina's animal and plant health organization, Senasa, announced late Monday (March 10, 2008).

Shipments containing between 1 and 5 seeds of the weed per kilogramme will be filtered to remove the impurity, with the shipper and importer negotiating to divide the cost.

China will reject shipments or suspend the corresponding exporter if more than five seeds per kilogram are detected, Senasa said.

China had previously said that it would reject shipments with more than 1 datura ferox seed per kilogram beginning March 31.

In February, Argentina fixed its tolerance level for the weed at 5 seeds per kilogramme of soy.

The weed, commonly referred to as fierce thornapple, is originally from China, but has spread across Argentina's Pampas. While the use of no-till farming with the herbicide glyphosate has contained the spread of the weed, the plant has shown resistance to the herbicide in some regions of the country, Senasa said.

China is the leading importer of Argentine soy, buying 9.2 million tonnes out of the 12 million tonnes Argentina shipped last year, according to the Agriculture Secretariat.