December 6, 2010

China has not signed corn import agreement with Argentina

China and Argentina have not signed any trade agreement for corn importation to China and media reports that China will import 5.5 million tonnes of corn from Argentina are incorrect, according to the Chinese agriculture ministry.

"China's Ministry of Agriculture and its counterpart in Argentina have never exchanged views on importing corn from Argentina," the ministry said on its website Thursday (Dec 2).

Chinese media reported in mid-November that the two countries had arranged the trade deal, citing Argentine President Cristina Fernandez.

Argentina's Minister for Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Julian Dominguez told reporters in Beijing Wednesday (Dec 1) that Argentina is likely to complete negotiations to export corn to China in the first half of next year.

Dominguez told a media briefing that Argentina has a surplus of 20 million tonnes of corn that can be exported, but he is not sure yet about the volume of corn that is likely to be shipped to China.

The two countries will have to first settle a phytosanitary agreement on acceptable strains of genetically modified corn, he said.

Completing the corn deal with Argentina is also on the Chinese government's agenda, he said.

Analysts previously estimated that China may need to import five million tonnes of corn from Argentina. But China's recent corn harvest was better than expected, which may reduce demand for imports.

China imported 1.48 million tonnes of corn in the first 10 months of this year, 97% of it from the US, up from a negligible quantity a year earlier, according to the General Administration of Customs.