A technical mission of the BAPHIQ (Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine) visited and supervised five fruit processing plants and apple producing orchards in the provinces of Curico and Linares, within the Maule region, to verify the compliance of the Chilean apple sector with the export protocol to Taiwan.
The technical mission was led by Chih-Wei Yang, a phytosanitary inspector, and was received by the Regional Director of SAG Maule, Cristian Lara, and officials of the phytosanitary certification service program in the region.
The visit of the inspectors began with a work meeting where they had the opportunity to get to know the work carried out by the professionals of the SAG in the different plants and orchards of the region, in order to ensure compliance with the protocol established for apple exports to Taiwan.
It's worth noting that, during last season, the SAG in the Maule region certified 52 million boxes of fruit exports to different markets and that apples accounted for 48% of shipments. Taiwan is an important destination market, especially for the Fuji apple variety, which are the most widely grown apples in the Maule region.
The Maule region has 105 plants with operational agreements with SAG, which, after being certified, can export their products to different markets.
Data
According to statistics from Chile's Fruit Exporters Association AG (ASOEX), based on data provided by SAG, during the 2015-2016 season Chile exported more than 500 thousand tons of fresh fruits to the Far East. Taiwan was the second most important destination with 13.5% of the total shipped to the Far East (62,000 tons). Red apples accounted for 73.6% of the total shipped (49,551 tons), followed by table grapes with 10.6% (7,140 tons), and nectarines with 6.3% (4,247 tons).
Source: SimFRUIT / SAG-Maule