{"id":50031546,"date":"2019-11-08T18:17:21","date_gmt":"2019-11-08T18:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.dialogochino.net\/?p=31546"},"modified":"2023-03-12T15:28:59","modified_gmt":"2023-03-12T15:28:59","slug":"31546-paraguays-agribusiness-pushes-for-china-market-access","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/business\/31546-paraguays-agribusiness-pushes-for-china-market-access\/","title":{"rendered":"Paraguay’s agribusiness pushes for China market access"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Paraguayan cow has become an unlikely pawn in US-China corrivalry in South America. Exports of beef from Paraguay to China, the world\u2019s largest consumer market, have long been blocked by the former’s longstanding recognition of Taiwan.<\/p>\n

Yet with local agribusiness pressuring the government to reassess its trade relations with China and the US anxious to prevent more Latin American nations \u201cflipping\u201d towards Beijing, the South American nation has been able, for now at least, to extract concessions.<\/p>\n

Stuck in the middle with Wu<\/h2>\n

Joseph Wu, Taiwan\u2019s foreign minister, announced<\/a> on a 30 October visit to Paraguayan capital Asunci\u00f3n that his country would lift its existing quota on Paraguayan beef exports, currently set at 20,635 tonnes per year. He was accompanied by a trade delegation that committed to purchasing US$60 million worth of local agricultural products per year.<\/p>\n

The move follows pressure from agribusiness associations to find diplomatic channels to open up access to the Chinese market.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the month, during a business trip to Sao Paulo<\/a>, Paraguayan ranchers met with China\u2019s vice-consul to Brazil. According to Fernando Serrati, head of the meat producers\u2019 association, they were told they \u201cheld the key to allow Paraguayan meat into mainland China, but first it was necessary to break relations with Taiwan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Serrati and the media were quick to denounce<\/a> what they described as \u201ccommercial blackmail\u201d, but pressure is growing from agribusiness lobbying groups to reassess Paraguay\u2019s commercial ties with China.
\n

\n

$3.5billion<\/p>\n

\n
\nworth of Chinese goods entered Paraguay in 2017
\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div><\/p>\n

Paraguay is the only South American nation to recognise Taiwan. This status does not prevent Chinese firms exporting to Paraguay. In 2017, US$3.5 billion worth of Chinese goods entered the country, principally electronics and textiles, much of which is resold into Brazil,.<\/p>\n

However, the main potential Chinese buyers of Paraguayan soy and meat products are state-owned companies, who strictly adhere to their government\u2019s One China policy. \u00a0In 2017, Paraguay exported a meagre US$25 million worth of goods to China, mainly wood and leather products, making the country\u2019s trade-deficit with China the largest in Latin America, in relative terms.
\n

<\/p>\n