Argentina is about to authorize the export of 3 million tonnes more of 2010/11 corn as the government works to find new markets for the cereal, including China, the agriculture minister told Reuters. The South American country is the world's second-biggest corn exporter after the United States, but the government restricts exports of corn and wheat to ensure the local market is well supplied.
It has already allowed the shipment of 8.5 million tonnes of 2010/11 corn, which farmers started to bring in several weeks ago. "Three million (tonnes) more will be opened up in the days ahead," Agriculture Minister Julian Dominguez told the Reuters Latin America Investment Summit in Buenos Aires late on Wednesday.
The government's quota system for corn and wheat exports is a constant complaint among farmers, who say the government intervenes too heavily in the sector and drives down the prices they receive by capping exports. Dominguez said agricultural officials were forging ahead with plans to diversify the country's field of buyers.
"Argentina is working to open and consolidate new markets. We finished negotiating with China last year and now we are negotiating with Russia," Dominguez said. China, already a major market for Argentine soyabeans and soyaoil, has restrictions on the importation of genetically-modified corn strains, which account for about 80 percent of the South American country's crop.
Chinese food health officials arrived in Argentina this week to work on a protocol that would pave the way for Argentine to start shipping corn to the commodity-hungry nation. But Dominguez said it was still too early to announce the export of corn to China. Argentina is expected to harvest 20.8 million tonnes of 2010/11 corn, according to the Agriculture Ministry.
Maizar, Argentina's private corn-growing association, estimatess a crop of 22 million tonnes Once the 3 million tonnes is approved for export, bringing total authorized exports to 11.5 million tonnes, most of the 2010/11 will be spoken for, considering that the country consumes about 8 million tonnes. Argentina is also a major world supplier of soyabeans, soya products and wheat. Strong demand for Argentine grains exports helped the country's economy expand by 9.2 percent last year. Dry weather at the start of the corn season hit crop yields, dampening early production expectations for a crop of up to 26 million tonnes. However, rains since mid-January have helped some crops recover.