MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

China ends freeze on Argentina soy-oil imports, says Buenos Aires

Soy operators are waiting confirmation from Beijing

Argentina has reached an agreement with China to end the freeze on Argentine soy-oil imports, the government said on Friday. However given the cumbersome negotiation process some Argentine traders are waiting for an official confirmation from Beijing.

“Thanks to the talks the Argentine government has been holding with China. Soy-oil exports to China have been normalized” agriculture ministry spokesman Pablo Días was quoted by Reuters.

Last year, Argentina imposed anti-dumping measures on some Chinese manufactured goods, prompting China, the world's largest buyer of soy-oil, to halt shipments from Argentina this past March and impose new import standards on soy-oil.

The spat threatened a key hard currency earner for Argentina, the leading global exporter of soy-oil, and forced Argentine exporters to look for new markets.

On Friday, traders said they were waiting for an official announcement from Beijing.
Argentina exported 1.84 million tons of soy-oil to China last year, bringing in 1.4 billion USD and accounting for 77% of Chinese soy-oil imports.

Several shipments from Argentina to China that had been scheduled for April and other months were delayed but not cancelled while the two countries tried to reach a solution.

“It's odd that with Argentine soy-oil 40 to 50 USD cheaper than other countries, not a single Chinese importer is asking us to load the contracts that we had already agreed upon,” another trader said.

Argentina is the No. 3 global exporter of soybeans and the top supplier of soy-meal and soy-oil. The US Department of Agriculture estimates the Argentine 2009/2010 soy bean crop to reach a record 54 million tons.