Mexico seeks agricultural cooperation opportunities with China

Mexico was seeking agricultural cooperation with China with more related trade protocols signed in 2015 than any other country, local media reported on Sunday.

Raul Urteaga Trani, the Agriculture Ministry's general coordinator for international affairs, said those agreements included a protocol signed in September on the export of white corn to China with a supplementary accord on beef, and a second protocol on electronic certification.

During a recent promotion visit to China, he said, two additional protocols were signed for baby formula and tobacco exports.

In 2016, Senasica (Mexico's agency to assure agri-food quality) will begin a risk analysis study with its Chinese counterpart, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, to pave the way for protocols on other exports, including blueberries, avocados from Jalisco state, sorghum, banana and alfalfa.

Juan Barrio Aguirre, vice president of legislative liaison at the Mexican Association of Supreme Quality, underscored China's market of 1.35 billion people, the world's largest food importer.

In 2015 Mexican agri-food exports to China grew 25 percent compared with 2014, he said, amounting to nearly 150 million U.S. dollars.

The new protocols are expected to push the figure to 300 million in 2016.

"We are very proud to see how Mexico has succeeded in being recognized as a producer of excellent-quality foods, backed by dependable sanitary and safety systems few countries have," said Barrio.

President of the National Agricultural Council Benjamin Grayeb Ruiz noted that over 12 years, China's market had opened to only two Mexican products: avocados and grapes.

Yet in the past three years, seven products have been accepted, and three are yet to come in 2016, said Grayeb. Endi