BUENOS AIRES, July 24 (Xinhua) -- The "unique opportunity" opens "a window to growth in China," Argentine pork producers said, referring to their first exports to China next month.
ArgenPork, a consortium of 18 producers, will ship some 300 tons of pork to China, the South American country's leading agricultural trade partner.
"We have reached the first pork export deal with China," ArgenPork's manager Guillermo Proietto told reporters earlier this week, adding that "the shipments will head out in the first days of August."
Argentina could export up to 18,000 tons of pork to the Chinese market over the next 12 months, according to estimates from local analysts.
Argentine President Mauricio Macri in late April underscored the trade potential of opening up China's market to national pork production, so did the country's Minister of Agro-Industry Luis Miguel Etchevehere.
In a recent interview with Xinhua, the agricultural minister said the two countries have succeeded in establishing a solid foundation for growth in trade.
"During the past few years, we have built a relationship of mutual trust with Chinese authorities, on the basis of reciprocal visits and measures to expand agro-industrial trade exchange," Etchevehere said.
"The world recognizes the production quality of Argentine food, and being an economy that is complementary with Chinese demand allowed us to improve this comprehensive strategic partnership," he said.
International trade expert Romina Sudack told Xinhua that "this opening up (to Argentine pork) is important for our country, given the size of the client."
Argentine producers, she recommended, should rise to the challenge of supplying the world's largest single market, for their own benefit and that of the economy in general.
Companies with the potential to export their products to China will "help build a more prosperous Argentine economy and help integrate with the world," said Sudack.
Echoing a similar view, economist and China expert Gonzalo Tordini said Argentina needs to take steps to make the most of growing trade with China.
"It is extremely important to invest in new hatcheries, and in enlarging and modernizing Argentina's cold storage for pork, and at the same time look at the possibility of partnering with Chinese companies for joint investment, production and exportation," said Tordini.
According to official data, pork production in Argentina in the first quarter of 2019 reached 148,390 tons, a 5-percent increase compared to the same period last year.
China is Argentina's second largest trading partner and a leading market for agricultural exports.
"Economic cooperation between Argentina and China, with their high complementarity, has great development potential for the benefit of both sides," Tordini said.
In the meantime, "the agreement to export the first 300 tons of pork to China is excellent news for bilateral trade and bilateral ties," he added.
