President of Bolivia Evo Morales (3rd R) attends the Presidents' meeting during the Summit of Heads of States of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) and Associated States, in the city of Mendoza, Argentina, on July 21, 2017. Members of the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) trade bloc seek to recover the group's trade dynamism by boosting free trade among themselves and with other regions, a senior Argentine official said Friday. (Xinhua/Martin Zabala)
BUENOS AIRES, July 22 (Xinhua) -- The Southern Common Market (Mercosur) should have a bigger share in China's food imports, said Diego Guelar, Argentina's ambassador to China, on Friday.
Mercosur, which groups Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, has been the leading farm product exporter to China, representing 24 percent of China's total imports, followed by the United States with 20 percent, said Guelar.
However, Mercosur's share could be bigger by having a common agenda and sitting down with China to negotiate free trade terms, Guelar added.
"It is a market with a robust appetite for foreign products, especially for food," said Guelar, indicating China is home to more than 300 million high-end consumers, presenting exporters with untapped opportunities.
Guelar was in Buenos Aires for a presentation on meat and poultry exports during an agricultural expo.
China is Argentina's leading agricultural trade partner, its second largest trade partner overall, and its third-largest foreign investor.
