Argentina's Ministry of Agro-industry expects the country's table grape growers will be able to ship to China in time for the 2017 season, after authorities from both countries recently reached an agreement on protocol terms.

The deal was struck in Beijing during a Mixed Economic-Commercial Commission on July 11-12.

Argentina's request for market access was first presented in 2012 but work on the risk analysis didn't start until 2013, eventually leading to an inspection visit in February, 2015.

The protocol is expected to be signed during the next meeting of authorities from the ministry and China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), in time for the next export campaign in January.

Minister Ricardo Buryaile celebrated the news, highlighting the objective was very clear - to insert Argentina in the world market by positioning the country as a trustworthy supplier of products and services.

The bulk of Argentina's table grape exports come from the northern province of San Juan, which is at the same latitude as Chile's Coquimbo region.

The province produces around 100,000 metric tons (MT) of table grapes annually, the local press reported.

In 2015, Argentina exported 13,012MT of fresh table grapes with Russia as the main destination market accounting for 32%, followed by Brazil (27%), the Netherlands (17%) and Bolivia (5%).

Once the final agreement is in place, the industry is hopeful it can snag even a small piece of the Chinese market, which imported 216,000MT of table grapes last year at a value of US$586 million, with supply coming from Chile (42%), Peru (34%), the U.S. (10%) and Australia (7%).

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