The Minister of Agricultural Development, Augusto Valderrama, in the company of Deputy Minister Alexis Pineda, met with Wei Quiang, ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, to continue strengthening agricultural trade relations and the authorization of export plants for both pig and poultry slaughter in the country.

The meeting where Erya Villarreal, Secretary General, Anaris Cedeño, head of the Office of Trade Policy and Xu Jiaping, Economic and Commercial Attaché of the Chinese Embassy, also participated, was timely to give continuity to the agricultural cooperation agreements.

It was mainly addressed in areas such as pork and chicken; in addition to evaluating the status of the authorization of these areas towards that market in that country.

Both Minister Valderrama and Ambassador Quiang agreed that there is a situation of food crisis worldwide and the momentum in plant certification procedures in these areas, will result in great support for Panamanian agricultural activity.

It is important to mention that Panama exported to China a sacrifice of $16 million in beef, $4.6 million in coffee and $19 million in fish meal and oil, until September 2022.

During the meeting, there was also talk about the items that have been threatened by imports that exceed 20,000 tons, mainly from the United States of America, under the Trade Promotion Treaty and that require all the government efforts that Mida, through the National Government, are developing to safeguard the interest of employment and food security, in this type of item.

At the end of the meeting, the occasion was timely to reiterate the offer to Panama to participate in the Fair in Shanghai in China, to be held in November 2023, in order to use that commercial showcase so that its products can be promoted, which are already being exported to that Asian market such as coffee, pineapple, fruits, bananas and meat products.