Agricultural News: Greece and China open new avenues of cooperation in agricultural products

Agreements to undertake initiatives that will deepen Greece-China relations in the primary sector

The meeting of the Minister of Rural Development and Food, Mr. Lefteris Avgenakis with his Chinese counterpart Mr. Tang Renjian at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China took place today in a warm atmosphere of cooperation.

The Greek minister thanked the Chinese side on behalf of our country for its presence at a high level at the “our Ocean Conference” which took place in Athens on April 15-17, for supporting Greece’s candidacy for election as a non-permanent member to the UN Security Council for the period 2025-2026, as well as for the support it offers to Greece’s effort to repatriate the Parthenon sculptures.

The Chinese side thanked the Greek Government for its support in the “Belt and Road” initiative, a development strategy adopted by the Chinese Government in 2013 connecting Asia, Europe and Africa on the basis of which the two countries have signed a Memorandum Understanding. The Chinese minister thanked his Greek counterpart for our country’s participation in the China-Central and Eastern European Countries Cooperation Initiative, as well as for Greek support for the re-election of the Chinese Director General Mr. Qu Dongyu to the World Food Organization (Greece is a founding member FAO).

The Greek Minister of Rural Development and Food raised a number of issues related to addressing the low level of trade relations between Greece and China in agricultural products.

Direct communication was agreed between the two Ministries, with the aim of speeding up cooperation processes at all levels.

The Greek delegation requested that the “principle of regionalization” be implemented from China’s side (the ban on imports of unprocessed and processed products should apply, after smallpox outbreaks, only for the areas where an outbreak occurs and not for the entire country)with the aim of lifting the bans on Greek products of sheep and goats, skins of sheep and goats, cattle and pigs, which was accepted and the on-site visit of a Chinese delegation to production units in Greece was agreed upon for the control of diseases and accurate information from the competent authorities.

It was also agreed to adopt an Action Plan with specific initiatives, as a result of the Memorandum of Understanding on Agricultural Cooperation between the two countries.

The Greek side gladly accepted the proposal to host a film crew of the Ministry of Agriculture of China in order to create a documentary for the promotion of Greek products in the Chinese market, with a special emphasis on olive oil, honey, fish, cheese, leather, chickens and wine .

The regular exchange of visits between the two countries at the technical and scientific level was decided.

From the Chinese side, great importance was attached to the presence of the Greek Minister at the “China-Europe Forum on Beautiful Countryside”, which will take place from July 15-17 in Zhejiang, China, in which the Chinese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

Affairs sent an invitation to the Greek Ministry of AAT to attend. (This particular one Forum is about the deepening of Chinese and European relations).

The Greek Minister pledged that the Greek presence will be examined at a high level, while he pointed out that it will be extremely useful for the “Action Plan” between Greece and China to have progressed as well as the signing of the “Protocols” for the start of Greek fish exports to China.

The possibility of the Greek minister being accompanied by a delegation of institutional representatives of productive sectors such as olive oil, honey, fish, cheese, wine, poultry and leather was also discussed.

The Chinese side ardently expressed its desire to strengthen trade cooperation with our country. Given that this is a country with a population of 1.4 billion citizens, the prospects for Greek products are obvious.

The Minister’s official visit continues tomorrow with the meeting with the President of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. On Wednesday there will be a meeting with the Ministers of Trade and the Customs.