Spotlight: China can play big role in Argentina's agro-industry modernization -- business leader

China is shaping up to be a key partner in Argentina's push to modernize its agro-industry with technological know-how on the basis of long-running mutual cooperation and trade ties.

"The obvious area of cooperation is in technological know-how. China is a leading producer of manufacturing equipment, and it has a very strong metalworking industry," Ruben Silva, general manager of Renova, a national leading soybean processing plant, told Xinhua in a recent interview.

Silva said the Renova plant, located 40 km north of Rosario, Argentina's third-largest city, has reached a daily production capacity of 20,000 tons of soybean meal since it started operation in 2013.

Covering some 200 hectares, the plant was described by Silva as the largest of the sector in Argentina, and one of the largest in the world.

Silva said, "the process is relatively simple, but very high-tech," adding that Chinese-made machinery can boost the value of Argentina's products.

Argentina is the world's third-largest exporter of soybeans, the leading exporter of soybean meal and soybean oil, and the second-largest exporter of biodiesel made of soybean oil.

Six million tons or 10 percent of the 60 million tons of soybeans produced a year in Argentina are processed by the Renova plant.

Following an initial stage of raw material production, Argentina has reached the second stage of adding value to its products, Silva said.

With China being Argentina's second-largest trade partner and leading export destination for its agro-industrial output, Silva sees ample potential for cooperation between the two, especially in optimizing efficiency and minimizing environmental impact.

"Energy efficiency is important and so is commitment to the environment. It's an industry in which efficiency and the application of technology are definitely on the rise," he said.

The Renova plant, which employs 360 people, makes high-protein animal feed, including soybean meal, soyhull pellets and soy lecithin, and unrefined soybean oil for human consumption as well.

Silva said the products can be further processsed for a variety of uses, including to make fuel or natural suppliers of vitamin E.

"These are more refined processes, much more closely related to chemistry," which require more technology and more levels of control, said Silva. "Argentina is heading in that direction."

"There's opportunity for exchange in this business as in others, because they (China and Argentina) are complementary economies," he said. "Argentina has long-running trade ties with China, especially in the area of soybeans."

The South American country, a traditional producer and exporter of primary agricultural products, hopes to increase its exports of high-tech and value-added goods to China in a bid to optimize its economic structure.

Beijing, meanwhile, has been very active in helping Argentina with its strategic industries, including the railroad sector, hydraulic engineering and nuclear energy.

The two major emerging markets are well positioned to promote bilateral exchange and cooperation, share development opportunities and work together to tackle common challenges. Endi