ZCZC
BCN-40
ARGENTINA-CHINA-IMPORT-EXPO-INTERVIEW
Argentina sees massive opportunities at China’s import expo
BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 26, 2018 (BSS/Xinhua) – The first ever China
International Import Expo (CIIE) will offer Argentina an unprecedented
opportunity to promote its value-added products to a market of roughly 1.4
billion people, an Argentine export promoter told Xinhua.
“What we are most interested in is raising Argentina’s visibility by
identifying it with wine, not just from Mendoza but also (the provinces) of
Salta and San Juan,” said Mario Lazzaro, the executive director of the export
promotion agency Promendoza of Mendoza Province.
Mendoza is among the Argentine provinces sending the largest delegation to
the CIIE to be held in Shanghai on Nov. 5-10. The delegation of the province,
which is renowned for its wineries, embraces representatives from more than
30 companies, including 16 wineries.
It prepares to boost business via the CIIE, and Promendoza hopes to better
position regional wines in China, where Argentina is currently the eighth-
largest supplier of wine.
“The success of Argentinian wine owes a lot to engineering and
biotechnology,” Lazzaro said.
“It has a significant amount of added value from the biotechnology used to
obtain fruits in earlier seasons, taking into account that in Argentina we
are in counter seasons to China,” said Lazzaro, referring to the seasonal
differences between the southern and northern hemispheres.
Speeding up natural agricultural cycles allows Argentina, for example, to
time its harvests so goods will reach Chinese shelves in time for major
holidays, such as the Spring Festival.
But biotechnology is also applied to “obtain fruits that look better and
have a better texture,” he added.
Growth in Mendoza’s wine exports to China “has been slow,” admitted
Lazzaro, going from approximately 20 million U.S. dollars in 2015 to a little
over 24 million dollars in 2017.
“It’s not the pace we are aiming for. We want it to be greater,” he said.
The province has also seen a 1.7 million U.S.-dollar increase in its olive
oil exports to China, and a 600,000-dollar increase in concentrated grape
often used as a sweetener.
MORE/HR/1458
ZCZC
BCN-41
ARGENTINA-CHINA-IMPORT-EXPO-INTERVIEW 2 LAST BUENOS AIRES
Regional bottled water manufacturers are eyeing China’s market as well,
according to Lazzaro.
“Another value-added product is the element that is scarcest: water. We
have water of great purity because it comes from the mountain range,” he
said.
Recognized as a leading agricultural exporter in South America, Argentina
hopes to go beyond grains and other bulk goods by showcasing its wines, beef,
bottled waters, dairy items and olive oils at the expo.
In addition to attending the expo, Argentina is taking other steps to
boost exports, such as setting up a logistical platform in Shanghai to import
and warehouse products so they can be distributed more quickly to buyers.
Argentina’s efforts to meet the demands of China’s growing consumer market
should not end there, said Lazzaro.
China and Argentina can take advantage of “enormous” opportunities by
applying biotechnology to food production for export, including fruits such
as grapes, cherries, strawberries and peaches.
Meanwhile, Lazzaro admitted that “Being able to compete in such a large
market is a major challenge.”
Argentina and China, which have raised ties to the level of a
comprehensive strategic partnership, agreed in May to expand market access to
Argentinian meat, specifically frozen bone-in beef.
China is Argentina’s second largest trade partner and leading export
destination for beef. In August alone, beef accounted for 37 percent of
Argentina’s total exports to China, according to official figures.
Promendoza has acknowledged that expanding trade is part of a larger
bilateral dynamic of increased ties and integration between the two
countries. “We clearly know that trade, exports and imports are the result of
two countries getting to know one another,” said Lazzaro. “That’s why it is
also important to promote tourism, culture, sports (and) the exchange of
technicians, engineers, artists and professionals.”
BSS/XINHUA/HR/1500