Uruguayan sorghum has been approved for export to China, a step forward for the country's agriculture and sorghum crops, El Pais reported on October 15. The Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries plans to draw up a list of Uruguayan enterprises exporting sorghum to China.

"It's a great achievement," said Leonardo Olivera, head of the agricultural services department at the Uruguayan Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries. After two years of hard work, China is satisfied with the outcome and just need to sign the agreement. Negotiations began in 2018, with China sending technical information to Uruguay to prepare pest risk analyses. After a series of technical exchanges, Uruguay extended its sorghum export qualification to human consumption in 2021 and reached a consensus with China on a list of key quarantine pests. In August last year, the competent animal and plant quarantine authority of China notified the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture, and Fisheries of Uruguay of the Protocol on Basic Requirements for Plant Quarantine, and agreed to open sorghum exports to China. In early 2022, China provided the first draft of the phytosanitary export protocol, and Uruguay submitted the final phytosanitary protocol after consultations in the technical field with private enterprises that produce and export sorghum.

China is the world's largest importer of sorghum, with imports worth $3 billion in 2021. In China, local sorghum is mainly used in liquor, sugar and vinegar brewing. Sorghum is imported from other countries as animal feed. In Uruguay, sorghum production has been declining for the past four harvests. The total area of sorghum (dry and wet) planted in 2020/21 was 68,600 ha, of which 41,000 ha was devoted to wet food.