Korea and Peru concluded in Lima negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA), which is expected to go into effect midway through next year once it is approved by the parliaments of the two countries.

The agreement reached this week boosts bilateral trade which has risen over the past few years to US$1.4 billion in 2009. The target is US$7 billion by 2016, said Peruvian president Alan García at the ceremony in Government Palace.

Canada, South Africa and India are scheduled to begin trade talks this year with Mercosur, according to reports from Ottawa and Johannesburg.

In what seems a major change in world trade pattern, priority is been given to non-traditional partners and economic blocks in the developing world, ahead of the U.S. and European Union, said the South African and Indian Trade ministers.

Uruguay pledged efforts to seek a stronger relationship with Beijing since “China is an essential factor in the international development of Uruguay,” said Vice-President Danilo Astori following an hour long meeting in Beijing with his counterpart Wu Bangguo, president of the National Assembly.

“Despite the long distance between the two countries, Chinese and Uruguayans share good feelings for each other,” said Wu Bangguo adding that China-Uruguay diplomatic relations since established in 1988, “have developed smoothly” with substantial benefits for both countries.

Argentina’s hotel building boom can be held up as a symbol of South America’s climb back from the global downturn. The country has 15 projects in the development pipeline representing 1,700 rooms, according to STR Global. Of those 1,700 rooms, 68.9% or 1,172 are currently in the in-construction phase of development.

Argentina’s pipeline is bested in South America only by tourism mecca Brazil, which shows 51 projects comprising 7,042 rooms.

Uruguay’s renowned sea resort Punta del Este will be hosting next December the 2010 Eurofruit Congress Southern Hemisphere. This is the first time the annual conference and exhibition event for the region’s fresh produce industry comes to Uruguay.

An estimated 300 delegates will be discussing current issues affecting the region’s fruit and vegetable export markets. The program considers the latest trends influencing the key areas of the region’s fresh produce business, including logistics, costs and competitiveness, product opportunities, new markets and trade agreements.