BUENOS AIRES — Argentina’s Minister of Agriculture Carlos Casamiquela met on Sept 14 with visiting Deputy head of China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) Zhang Qinrong.

The two leaders signed a protocol for Argentina to export bales of alfalfa to China and made modifications to three existing agreements, allowing Argentina to export pet food as well as bovine embryos and semen to China.

“The agreements signed today create more opportunities for our producers and will boost national production,” said Casamiquela after the meeting.

Zhang also said that these deals “showed that agricultural trade between Argentina and China is healthy and secure. Our countries share exports worth $15 billion a year, making Argentina China’s third-largest supplier of agricultural imports.”

Furthermore, Argentina’s secretary of agricultural emergencies and policy coordination, Javier Rodriguez, said that “these agreements would further consolidate commercial links to China. The new opening for the exportation of alfalfa joins recent advances for the exportation of pears, apples and sorghum.”

During the meeting, various technical processes were also revised, such as those governing trade in blueberries, grapes, and mutton.