MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
China only interested in commodities, not in products that reach supermarkets
De Mendiguren: virtues and drawbacks of trading with the Asian giant Trade with China for Argentina has great opportunities but also great threats because the Asian giant is only interested in produce with no added value, warned the head of Argentina’s Industrial Union, Ignacio De Mendiguren.
“Trade with China has opportunities and threats. We must not fall into the temptation of limiting exports to commodities. Let us understand that in this growth cycle so favourable for Argentina, it should help us boost development”, said De Mendiguren during a chat with foreign correspondents in Buenos Aires.
It is clear that for China, “the added value must be incorporated in China” said the Argentine lobbyist and called for the diversification of trade with countries prepared to buy goods with more added value.
“China wants the soy bean, not even soy oil or soy flour and it is legitimate. That is why we must re-direction our trade to all those countries with middle classes that can purchase out goods but at the supermarket. China does not want Argentine products in their supermarkets”, underlined De Mendiguren.
China has become the second partner for Argentine exports but the first for agriculture sales such as soybeans. Bilateral trade was 14.8 billion dollars in 2011 according to official data with a strong deficit for Argentina, which jumped from a red 1.85 billion dollars in 2009 to another red of 4.4 billion in 2010.
Argentina is the world’s third exporter of soy beans and the first of soy-oil and soy-flour.
Last June Argentina and China signed cooperation agreements in nuclear energy as well as agriculture and fisheries during a visit to the region of Primer Minister Wen Jiabao.
A few days later at a Mercosur summit in Mendoza, Argentina the group did not support the Wen Jiabao proposal to create a free trade zone between China and the group made up of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and now Venezuela.
However there was an understanding to try and reach 200 billion dollars in bilateral trade between Mercosur and China by 2016, which is double that of 2010.
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rules-
-
-
Read all commentsI would have thought that this was blatantly obvious to everyone .
Aug 11th, 2012 - 01:06 pm 0Europe and America have closed their manufacturing industries down and exported the manufacturing to China where it can be done more cheaply.
Multi nationals can make bigger profits as the labour force in China work for less, have no health and safety provisions or any benefits that the more developed nations workers have striven for over the centuries.
The reality is NOBODY wants products manufactured in Argentina. The quality of Argentine produced products is laughable. The appliances both small and large last about 3 months until they break down. Cheap, shoddy materials, and the designs look like things that I found in my grandmothers basement in 1960. So if you like cheap, retro imitations that don't funcion and need to be constantly fixed, then go for the Argie junk. The factory workers work about 5 hours per day, for inflated salaries, and if their boss asks them to do anything they complain to the union shop steward, who files a lawsuit or calls a strike against the factory owner. This is how Argentina works! It's the biggest failed experiment ever, called the “República Argentina” that is ruled by the criminal Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (a/k/a scrotum neck) that has stolen BILLIONS of dollars from the Argentine people, tries everything in her power to squash her detractors, silence the press, opress the citizens, steal their money with extorsive and invented taxes, it's well known that she never even finished her law degree but says she is a a lawyer, her children the horribly ugly Florencia and pudgy fat Maximo have high ranking government positions but have never set foot in a university, a vice-president Amado Boudou who is a small time criminal mafioso who owns companies that he awards government contracts to for millions - Argentina is a bastion of modern day CORRUPTION - all countries should avoid doing business with Argentina like it was a PLAGUE - this Kirchner disaster cancer must be taken down and thrown to rot in jail forever along with her cronies - down with this PERONIST garbage who talk about “social justice” and are only interested in their own power and wealth and do NOTHING for the citizens of the country but steal their hard earned money and possessions and talk about how awesome they are. Cristina Kirchner even once said that “god wanted her to be president and rule Argentina”!
Aug 11th, 2012 - 01:26 pm 0Extremely high taxes for exported minerals should solve the problem. Or a tax break on finished products can turn the tide in Argentina's favor.
Aug 11th, 2012 - 03:08 pm 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!