China and Argentina are finalizing details of a bilateral market access agreement that could allow Argentina to begin exporting corn to China within a few months, according to a senior Argentine official.

Lorenzo Basso, Argentina’s secretary of agriculture, told reporters he hopes the agreement, including a required phytosanitary agreement, can be signed by the end of 2011. If that occurs, bilateral trade could begin by March 2012.

Basso also said Argentina is expected to harvest some 25 million metric tons (985 million bushels) of corn next year, of which an estimated 15 million metric tons (591 million bushels) could be exported.

Meanwhile, Chinese companies, including the Heilongjiang Beidahuang Nongken Group, are working on land deals to invest in Argentine agriculture.