Argentina sign new deal to export beef to China
It has been reported this week by Senasa, the Argentina agriculture and livestock sanitary office, that all types of Argentine beef and lamb will now have export access to the Chinese market. The deal has been agreed following 15 years of talks and negotiations to access China, the world’s largest importer of beef.
The deal is effective immediately with sources in Beijing reporting that the first shipment of Argentine beef under the new agreement could arrive in the first quarter of 2018, this also means that Argentina should be able to take part in the major Imports Expo that takes place in Shanghai every November. Zhai Chengyu, Trade attaché at the Chinese emabssy in Buenos Aires has said “Many hotels and restaurants are demanding high quality beef and Argentine produce is the right choice”.
Beef is not the only commodity that has recently gained access to the Chinese market, in August 2017 China opened the market to Argentine peas, blueberries and pulses with the view in the near future to also accept Argentine honey.
Until this agreement, Argentina could only export frozen boneless beef to China, despite the low-cut price cost this represented 50% of Argentina’s beef export at 86,500 tons in 2017 and this is expected to rise considerably with this new export deal.
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