BEIJING, Dec 1 (Reuters) - China and Argentina have signed quarantine agreements to allow the import to China of deboned beef, dairy products and barley, China's quarantine administration said on Wednesday, but it made no mention of an expected deal on corn.
Without an agreement on corn, imports of Argentina corn into China are not expected in the short term despite earlier market talk. [ID:nN15159639]
Bilateral trade has recently improved between the two countries after China in October lifted a de facto ban on imports of soyoil from Argentina, its largest supplier, after a six-month ban amid a wide-ranging trade dispute.
The latest agreements were signed on Tuesday during a visit to Beijing by the Argentine agriculture minister, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said in a report on its web site (www.aqsiq.gov.cn).
China, the world's-largest beer producer, does not have sufficient domestic supplies of the key ingredient barley. China imported 1.7 million tonnes of barley in 2009, mainly from Australia, Canada and France.
China this year partially opened its market for beef imports from Canada and pork from the United States as improved living standards in the world's-fastest growing major economy have created rising demand for meat.
(Reporting by Niu Shuping and Ken Wills)