Reuters has reported that China Communications Construction Company , the Beijing-based engineering and infrastructure development firm, is preparing a bid to dredge the Parana River Basin, the second-largest basin in South America and Argentina’s primary waterway for transporting finished crops from the Pampas breadbasket to export markets.
This move into commodity transportation logistics follows an extended period of strategic investments in Argentine agribusiness by Chinese firms. China’s state-owned food processing holding company, COFCO, a minority stake of which is also owned by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation, is already Argentina’s largest grain exporter. COFCO’s dominant position in the Argentine market was the result of a campaign of acquisitions, including takeovers of agribusiness giants Noble Agri Limited and Nidera, which held a combined 16% of Argentina’s grain exports prior to being acquired.
According to the Reuters report, the Parana River dredging concession is the largest public tender in Argentina. China has had an abiding interest in securing these rights for some time, per a December 2018 report from Argentina’s Alpemar Shipping Agency.
The renewed bid comes as the Argentine economy grapples with financial crisis following the defeat of President Mauricio Macri in a recent presidential primary.