In a meeting held at the headquarters of the Fruit Exporters Association of Chile AG (ASOEX), Chile's ambassador in Beijing, China, Jorge Heine, together with ASOEX president Ronald Bown and CEO Miguel Canala-Echeverria, analysed the situation of Chilean fruit in the Chinese market, as well as the challenges the industry is facing, especially with regard to the entry of nectarines and the implementation of a quarantine radius upon detection of fruit fly outbreaks.
"The last outbreak of the insect detected in La Serena led to China quarantining the entire region; however, they have now expressed their willingness to evaluate the establishment of a radius of 27.2 kilometres, and we expect that to happen after the visit to the area of inspectors from the Chinese Phytosanitary Agency," said Ronald Bown, president of Asoex.
Visit of Chinese Prime Minister
These matters will also be discussed at the highest level during the visit of the Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, to Chile, from 24 to 26 May, at which time a cooperation agreement will be signed between the two Governments.
"In this context, we have requested the agreement to include also the matters of greatest concern for us at the moment, including the entry of new fruits into that market and the quarantine radius, etc.," said Bown.
The president of ASOEX added that these issues have also been disclosed to Chilean parliamentarians who will participate in the 9th Chile-China Political Dialogue Committee, to be held in May in Beijing, China. "We've held talks with our representatives for these issues to be discussed during the meeting," he pointed out.
For his part, the Chilean ambassador to China, Jorge Heine, expressed his willingness to support the sector's plans, stating he has also held meetings on the matter with the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Furche, to prepare for the visit of the Chinese Prime minister and thus be able to discuss issues that are relevant to the sector.
Heine also stressed the need to strengthen trade relations between the two countries, and said that there are important structural changes in China regarding the way to do linked business, for example, internet platforms, among others.
Exports of Chilean avocados
In 2014, Chile managed to open the Chinese market for Chilean avocado shipments; however, it has not been possible to export significant volumes due to the fact that the fruit's main producing areas are quarantined.
"At the moment, China's order to quarantine the Metropolitan, Fifth, and recently the Fourth regions, make it unfeasible for Chilean avocados to be shipped to the Chinese market, since these products cannot withstand the required cold treatment," said Ronald Bown.
He added that solutions are being sought in two ways. The first one is the establishment of a 27.2 km quarantine radius, which would allow the export of avocados and other fruits; a second solution would be for the phytosanitary authorities in China to acknowledge that Hass avocados do not host fruit flies, based on evidence from studies carried out by third countries.