August 20, 2010

Argentina urges talks to address soy export ban

Argentina hopes to begin talks with China later in the year to help resolve a trade dispute concerning the ban of Argentine soyoil shipments.

China suspended Argentine soyoil deliveries in April in response to a series of anti-dumping measures against Chinese steel, shoes and textile products, but Argentina has invited a Chinese delegation to visit the country in November and try to ease the frictions, said Cesar Mayoral, Argentina's ambassador to Beijing.

"Our main objectives are to create a good and new environment for bilateral trade," he said. "We'd like to create a mechanism to talk about everything - market, prices and anti-dumping too of course - to resolve exports of soyoil. We are awaiting the answer from the Chinese government."

He said he hoped the problems could all be resolved by the end of the year.

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez failed to get Beijing to lift a ban on Argentine soyoil exports worth US$1.4 billion a year, during a visit to China last month.

Mayoral did not go into details about the subjects to be discussed in November, but he defended his country's policies, saying they were responsible for its strong economic growth.

He said while China's exports to Argentina account for only a small part of the total, 75% of China's soyoil comes from Argentina.

With the suspension of trade with China, Argentina has shifted its exports to other countries, including India and Bangladesh. Buenos Aires has also raised the blend requirement for biodiesel to 7% from 5%, which will increase its own domestic soyoil demand, Mayoral said.