“There are rumors that China could move to a quota system”
The Uruguayan Minister of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries, Alfredo Fratti, has led the INAC (National Meat Institute) delegation to Sial China several times when he was president of the institute, but the last time was ten years ago—and much has changed since then. “I’m surprised by the growth,” he said. Ten years ago, the stand was much smaller than the more than 600 square meters it now occupies, and no luncheons were hosted—something that began in 2023 after the pandemic had passed.
In China, symbols and gestures carry great weight, and authorities pay close attention to the presence of official delegations. During the fair’s opening, Fratti was the only cabinet minister from the region present. “It’s a country that places special value on these kinds of gestures, much more than we do,” he noted.
On the prospects of improving market access, Fratti pointed to the potential for exporting raw materials to Hainan province, a southern island that operates as a free trade zone, where value must be added to the product to enter duty-free. “If you bring in milk powder and turn it into yogurt, or if you send beef and portion it there, it enters with 0% tariff. I asked the ambassador to put this topic on the agenda for the meeting we’ll be having with the Minister of Agriculture in the coming days, because we’re going to propose a visit to the province.”
In addition, the government of Xi Jinping aims to promote the development of that province, “and when China sets out to do something, it gets it done,” he said. “It won’t be for everything, but we must knock on every door.”
Last week, a Chinese delegation was in Uruguay analyzing the possibility of increasing protection for domestic beef production due to poor economic results among local producers. On this, Fratti said, “There is talk that a quota system could be implemented, but this is only being discussed informally—there is nothing official. What is true is that we met with the inspectors and the Chinese ambassador, and they were very pleased with what they saw. They visited the Colonia slaughterhouse and a ranch, and they said they had never seen cattle as happy as the ones they saw there.” Based on this, he said he was “optimistic” and believed that “we won’t have any issues.”
