The Association of Exporters of Chile AG (ASOEX), together with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG), celebrated the first import of Chinese pears to Chile with a colorful ceremony on Friday morning at the Jumbo supermarket in Santiago.
The ceremony was headed by the Minister of Agriculture, Carlos Furche; the National Director of SAG, Angel Sartori; the president of ASOEX, Ronald Bown; Chile' Agricultural Attache in China, Carlos Parra; representatives of the Chinese Embassy in Chile, the vice president of the exporter company Hebei JinZhou Great Wall Economy Trade Co, Gavin Fan; and Feng Chunguang, Consultant Specialist of the China Entry & Exit Biosecurity Society (CBS).
Minister Furche stated, "China is Chile's main trading partner. More than 20% of all our exports go to that country and this year China became the main destination market for Chile's agricultural and forestry sector exports. We've had many ceremonies like this one in many Chinese cities to promote our products. Reciprocity is a basic principle in foreign trade that allows business relationship to work and a possibility for both parties to benefit. As China grows so do the possibilities for the Chilean products."
The first import includes two containers of Chinese pears, centered on three varieties: Crown, Hosui and Ya. These traditional and sweet pears will be available within the next few weeks at two retail chains: Jumbo and Tottus.
The president of ASOEX stated, "we are very happy with this is launch because it is an act of reciprocity between both nations. Chile is currently the main exporter of fresh fruits in China, a position that has been achieved thanks to Chilean public-private efforts, and the Chinese authorities, with whom we are currently negotiating to achieve the opening of that market for our pears. We hope to achieve it soon and to celebrate, as we are doing today, announcing to Chinese consumers the presence of our pears."
In turn, the National Director of SAG, Angel Sartori, spoke about this entity's work to open the markets for Chilean fruits and safeguard the national plant health. "Our entity has worked for a long time and closely with the phytosanitary entity of China. We worked with them to open our market to the Chinese pears, and we are working with them to open the Chinese market to our pears. Our professionals are doing a serious and diligent work," said Sartori.
Chinese pears
Three Chinese pear varieties will be offered in Chile. The first variety is the Crown Pear, which is very light green, juicy, smooth, and has a sugar content of about 13%. The second variety is the Hosui Pear, which has a round shape, orange skin color, a great caliber -as it can weigh up to 300 grams-, and a 15% quantity of soluble acids. The third variety is the Ya Pear, which is yellow, soft, juicy, weights 200 to 300 grams per fruit, and has a sugar content of about 10%.
Chunguang of CBS, said: "I am happy with the activities organized to announce the availability of our pears in Chile. ASOEX has made great efforts to coordinate this promotion."
Finally, Gavin Fan from Great Wall stated: "I am very excited and happy to see our pears here. We know that Chile is the main fruit exporter in China and the main one in the Southern Hemisphere, so we can learn a lot from this experience, as well as expand our knowledge of Chilean pears, as we know that Chile has very good pear varieties."
Source: SimFRUIT