The European Community is to offer Argentina compensation for its loss of maize and sorghum exports to Spain following Spains accession to the EC EC sources said. They said the offer will be made next week in Geneva headquarters of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and will also involve products other than cereals. They gave no further details. Argentine exports of sorghum to Spain fell to zero last year from 300000 tonnes in 1985 while maize sales fell to 15000 tonnes from 994000 official EC statistics show. The sources noted that an agreement between the EC and the U.S. guarantees special access to the Spanish market for two mln tonnes of non-EC maize and 300000 tonnes of sorghum each year for the next four years. But they said various details of this accord will tend to inhibit imports from Argentina. These include a provision for reduction of the amounts if Spain imports cereals substitutes and the ECs plan to import the special maize and sorghum on a regular monthly basis. Argentina tends to have exportable quantities only three or four times a year.
EC TO OFFER ARGENTINA GRAIN SALE COMPENSATION