China, the world's top soya importer, aims to quickly resolve the problem of stalled Brazilian soya cargoes hindering the $1.7 billion trade in the oilseed between the two nations, an official said on Monday.
Soya trade between China and Brazil is still in limbo as buyers have failed to acquire papers from Chinese authorities for the discharge of the stuck cargoes, though both countries have agreed over quality issues.
"We believe it will be resolved very quickly," China's vice minister of commerce Yi Xiaozhun told reporters when asked about the fate of more than 10 cargoes waiting outside China.
"We will continue to encourage soyabean imports from Brazil. We are working very hard to resolve some technical problems to ensure the safety and health of our consumers," Yi said on the sidelines of a business forum.
He did not elaborate. China and Brazil have been embroiled in a soya spat since late April after the Asian giant rejected cargoes and barred 23 suppliers from the South American country, citing contamination of a harmful fungicide called carboxyl.
But traders said the real reason behind China's move was an effort to save its loss-making crushers by using stringent sanitary standards to default on deals for Brazilian soyabeans bought at sky-high prices.