HAIKOU /China/, 12 November. /TASS/. Latin American countries are interested in expanding cooperation with China's southern province of Hainan in the food industry and agriculture, Sanya Daily reported.
The newspaper cited participants of the China-Latin America Innovation Forum on Sustainable Development of the Food Industry, held last week in the city of Sanya on the southern coast of the island. A joint innovation centre for sustainable food was inaugurated on the sidelines of the conference.
Marluce Aparecida Souza e Silva, Rector of Brazil's Federal University of Mato Grosso, said there was great potential for cooperation with China in the breeding and food sectors. She noted that such cooperation, including with the Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City, will allow Brazil and the People's Republic of China to successfully address global food security challenges.
According to Joao Ricardo Rodriguez, China Commercial Manager for Argentina's GDM Seed Group, the Hainan Free Trade Port's preferential policies, combined with Sanya's climate and strong R&D base, create excellent opportunities for agribusinesses. "We hope to gradually expand our cooperation with Hainan so that we can work with more Chinese companies to jointly promote progress in agricultural technology and its application," he stressed.
The Mexican side also expressed interest in joint seed projects with Sanya. According to Antonio Portilla, Head of Cooperation and Educational Affairs at the Embassy of Mexico in China, research organisations and companies from this Latin American country can benefit from such a partnership.
Hainan is important for the development of Chinese agriculture. There are a number of modern laboratories on the island, whose staff have extensive experience in breeding. The province plays a key role in China's seed production because of its favourable climate, which allows crops to be grown all year round. Every year, the country's leading experts come here to experiment and exchange experiences. Other countries with which China's southernmost region has close research and development links are also interested in these projects.