History: Argentine honey will arrive in China

Argentina is allowed to export honey to China after the signing of a sanitary protocol between the General Administration of Customs of that country and the Argentine Government, announced the Secretary of State to l & # 39; Food.

Last year, Chinese technicians visited processing factories in Argentina to verify the control and certification performed by the National Health and Food Quality Service (Senasa) for the production and the l '. honey export.

After this visit, the Secretary of the Government of Agri-Food, Luis Miguel Etchevehere, and the Chinese Ambbadador to Argentina, Zou Ziaoli, on behalf of the General Administration of Customs of the Asian Giant, signed today the sanitary protocol. Senasa will be the agency responsible for enforcing the agreement.

Argentina is the world's second largest exporter of honey, behind China, and the world's third largest producer. In 2018, total honey exports reached 70 000 tonnes, worth US $ 175 million.

According to a report from Agroindustria, the main destinations of shipments are the United States (48.3%), Germany (25.4%) and Japan (6.3%). Agroindustria added that the importance of China "lies in the fact that about 300 million people buy imported honey of great value and that the growth potential of Argentina is huge".

On the agreement, Etchevehere said: "This is a result of the ongoing exchange we have with the Chinese authorities, and we want to continue strengthening and improving relations between the two countries." In the meantime, Zou said that agricultural cooperation is a priority for his country. "The agreement reached represents great progress for both countries in trade and agriculture," he said.