Trade War Effect: China Analyzes Imports of Argentine Soybean Cake

Argentina is for years -the world's largest supplier of soy flour try to access the Chinese market, which uses its mbadive buys to feed her herds of pigs. However, the Asian giant, which owns its own flour milling sector, has so far resisted.

But fears over international trade – including a drop in expectations that Washington and Beijing resolve their trade dispute – are encouraging China to expand its range of options, thus improving Argentina's position, according to the reports. cereal operators.

"We will have a visit from Chinese officials as part of the process to export soy flour to China"Santiago del Solar, chief of staff of the Argentine Agri-Food Secretariat, told Reuters.

China is the largest soybean buyer in Argentina, but soybean meal does not matter. which could be used to feed the world's largest herd of pigs at a time when Asian consumers are improving their pork and poultry diets.

"Argentina has more than 20 years of attempts to access the Chinese soy flour market, the first Chinese trade mission to visit Argentina during this time to specifically discuss soy flour"Gustavo Idígoras, president of the CIARA-CEC Argentine Chamber of Agri-Export Companies, told Reuters.

Idígoras announced that Chinese customs inspectors would arrive in Argentina August 18 to stay two weeksduring which they would visit the factories of eight companies, including Bunge Ltd, Vicentin, Molinos Agro SA, Louis Dreyfus Corp and Cargill Inc.

"It makes sense that the world's most efficient exporter and soya flour producer sells it to the world's largest consumer," Idígoras added.

The flour produced in the gigantic mills that populate the banks of the Paraná River – at the altitude of the city of Rosario – is mainly exported to Southeast Asia, Europe and North Africa. At the same time, China is importing modest amounts of soy flour, none of which is from Argentina.

Commercial war in the background

The Chinese mission comes at a time when United States exporters face difficulties for China to approve its products, Because of the trade war that Washington and Beijing maintain, which, according to the operators, could favor Argentina.

"It's a tough time for trade relations between the US and China .This is perhaps an opportunity for Argentina, especially for value-added products such as the soy flour"said an executive of one of the companies whose plant will be examined, who asked not to be identified.

US President Donald Trump warned China on Tuesday that Do not wait until the end of your first term to conclude a trade agreement, claiming that if he is re-elected in the November 2020 elections, they will not reach an agreement or have a worse one.

"I think that this time, China really feels the crisis and wants to secure its supplies (soybean meal)", said a grain operator based in Beijing under the guise of anonymity. Another Chinese operator said the project was more of a "contingency plan" for China, given the trade dispute.

Idígoras said that he had confident that China will soon open its market to Argentina, although he noted that after the August mission, After just six months, a sale to the Asian giant could be registered due to reports and approvals from the pending factories.

In March, China's deputy minister of food safety "said the only questions left about Argentine soybean meal were its price and quality," said the director of CIARA-CEC. "We offer the best of both, so we are confident in the success of the mission."