SAN FRANCISCO, June 10 (Reuters) - Mexico and the United States plan to set up technical teams to negotiate solutions to a dozen disputes over farm products that critics charge threaten to derail the decade-old free trade pact between the two nations, an official said on Tuesday.

Mexico's Economy Minister Fernando Canales also told Reuters at a conference in San Francisco that U.S.-Mexico economic relations and the North American Free Trade Agreement remain on track despite the farm trade friction.

"The relationship between the United States and Mexico is very positive," Canales said.

U.S. farm groups have been alarmed about Mexico's recent decision to ask its NAFTA free trade pact partners the United States and Canada to accept new limits on white corn and bean exports to Mexico.

For their part, Mexican farmers have argued that they cannot compete with heavily subsidized U.S. agriculture when tariffs on most agricultural products come down to zero next year between the NAFTA countries.

Earlier, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Don Evans said the two-day event in San Francisco was intended to celebrate the success of NAFTA, while also providing opportunity to build on it.

The conference was held amid concerns in Mexico that the Bush administration's enthusiasm for promoting U.S.-Mexico relations declined sharply after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks that launched the U.S. "war on terrorism."

Additionally, the two countries on Monday signed an agreement to allow the Overseas Private Investment Corporation to extend its programs and services in Mexico.

The U.S. government agency helps U.S. companies invest abroad and currently may only provide direct loans to U.S. small business investing in Mexico.

The United States and Mexico initiated their "Partnership for Prosperity" economic development program only days before the attacks.

A number of deals were signed during the San Francisco conference, including an agreement between the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank and the Bank of Mexico to set up an automated clearinghouse for cross-border financial transactions.

Mexico's Senate still must ratify the agreement, which would allow the agency to back U.S. firms of all sizes with up to $250 million per project in financing and up to $250 million per project in political risk insurance.

U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza said the agreement bodes well for how Mexico and the United States will go about resolving trade disputes.

"I think it's a positive sign," Garza told Reuters. "This is a significant step in the right direction."