AgroPages-Argentina now allowed to export sorghum to China-Agricultural news

Forage sorghum export from Argentina to China was officially authorized by China this week. The permission is a result of a phytosanitary protocol agreement between the two countries that was signed in July.

The sales release was signed in Beijing by Argentina's Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Casamiquela, and the Chinese minister, Zhi Shuping, of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine. The agreement also allows import of pears, apples and sweet corn for human consumption.

Minister Zhi Shuping manifested that "the cooperation over the issues of inspection and quarantine played an important role in the advancement of the bilateral agenda" and highlighted the importance of the recent visit of president Xi Jinping to Argentina to speed up the negotiations of access of new Argentine products to the Chinese market. He also highlighted that the new sorghum protocol reflects the effectiveness of the cooperation between both countries.

Until 2012, Chinese sorghum imports did not exceed 100,000 tons yearly - most of the exports were for beverage production. The Chinese need to stock up forage grains to meet the demand of poultry, which led a growth of sorghum imports from 1 million tons in 2013 to 2.4 million tons in the first seven months of 2014.

The strong entrance of China as a buyer is having a huge impact in the world's market, which is dominated by Argentina, Australia, and the United States.

Argentina, as the world's second exporter, aims to capture part of the potential demand and become a reliable provider. During the 2013/2014 crop season, Argentina's production reached 3.47 million tons and in 2014 it is estimated to export 1.4 million tons.