China is the world’s biggest buyer of soya bean oil. It has stopped providing import permits for soya bean oil from Argentina as a trade rift between the two nations widens, according to Chinese industry executives.
China’s Ministry of Commerce’s computer system for processing permit applications was not in operation and the ministry did not say when it would be working.
On 1 April, the Chinese central government assumed full control from the provinces over Argentine soya bean oil imports. The move was in response to Argentina’s anti-dumping investigations on Chinese goods, ranging from steel pipes to textiles, according to a state-backed Chinese trade group.
An Argentine delegation in Beijing last week failed to reach agreement on the matter as the Chinese central government said the import issues were related to oil quality, the executives said. Oncemore, China was likely to maintain its curbs in the near term.
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(Source: scmp.com)