Mr. Alvaro Aspee, former Agricultural Attaché of the Embassy of Chile in P.R. of China, is now heading SAFCO Trading in Shanghai. The SAFCO Trading office opened its doors in 2008 in China and is a division of Rio King; a division that split from Rio Blanco in 2014. The company specialises in the import of grapes and cherries from Chile."We are Chilean cherry growers, exporters and importers. We work with all the main cherry varieties, including Lapins, Bing and Santina. We sell under the Rio King name, and under a number of different labels. Our cherries enter China through the Guangzhou and Shanghai areas. Supply started last year in November by air, which was followed by containers by sea. The containers started to arrive in December/January and will keep coming until the end of the month, just before the start of the New Year.”
“Regarding the market for Chilean cherries in China, the situation this year is completely different to last year. Last year the season started very late, and the Chinese New Year took place in February, not January. This year has different timings for selling the fruits. The season started early with good potential for air shipments, so we organised those. Last year we did not. The volumes are similar to last year. This season has been good in terms of prices, volume and quality. Although, in terms of volume, perhaps less than expected because of weather conditions in Chile. Rains and excessive cold in November affected cherry supply. At this moment, we are at the end of the season. The bulk of the supply has arrived this week, with one or two more ships on the way. We are all set to meet demand for the new year.”
To the right, Alvaro Aspee
“We track where our cherries are distributed to and sold. We have cooperation agreements with different wholesalers in different cities across China. After arrival in Shanghai, we ship 10% to 20% to secondary markets in the center, North and North eastern regions of China. Most of our imports are sold in Shanghai or neigbouring provinces like Jiangsu, Anhui and Zhejiang. The biggest volumes of fruits are sold via end-customers in small, local, family businesses that can be found all across cities in China. These shops get their supplies from their local wholesale markets. ”
For more information:
Mr. Alvaro Aspee
SAFCO (Shanghai) Trading
[email protected]
