Chile's Kiwi Committee will carry out the first strategic promotional effort to take advantage of the rapid growth of Chilean kiwis in India. To do this, they will have the support of the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile (ASOEX), and the financing of the Ministry of Agriculture of Chile, through the Fund for the Promotion of Agroforestry Exports, which is administered by ProChile.
India imported 5,109 tons of Chilean kiwis in the 2016-2017 season, i.e. 59% more than in the previous season.
However, given the lack of promotional efforts, the Indian merchants, retailers, and consumers, still don't fully associate Chile with the kiwis, and don't know that it is a supplier country.
Chile has a 50% advantage in tariffs compared to other countries that export this fruit to India. This tariff is part of the Chile-India bilateral Preferential Trade Agreement of 2017, which has created important opportunities for the future imports of kiwis.
Promotional campaign
The promotional campaign was officially launched at an event held within the framework of the Fresh Produce India fair in Mumbai, on April 26. The event, was attended by the main importers and retailers of this fruit.
On the occasion, Charif Christian Carvajal, the Marketing Director for Asia of the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile AG (ASOEX) said: "This is the first time that the Chilean fruit industry will undertake a promotion campaign in India. This campaign includes the participation and financing of producers and exporters of Chilean kiwis that export to this market, the support of the Chilean Government through ProChile and the Ministry of Agriculture, and, for the first time, the promotional efforts will include economic contributions from the major importers and distributors of kiwis in the Indian market. Thus, we can affirm that this is an effort from all the actors of this chain that shows the commitment that our industry has with the Indian market."
Carolina Vasquez, the commercial director of ProChile in India, stated at the event: "This campaign to promote our kiwis will be the first campaign that involves an effort to raise awareness about Chilean fruits in India, representing a contribution to strengthening the image of Chile in India. We hope to expand the number of importers and distributors that are part of the initiative in the coming seasons and motivate other export sectors in Chile to follow this line of work to take full advantage of the benefits from the recently signed Preferential Trade Agreement between both nations."
To implement the promotion campaign, ASOEX selected SS Associates, a Delhi-based food marketing consultancy firm. Sumit Saran, the Director of SS Associates, said: "Our company is proud to have this opportunity to launch the promotional campaign of the Chilean kiwis in India. We believe that we will reach the most demanding consumers with specific promotions, through actions in the retail market and various media. We will have a positive impact in increasing the penetration and knowledge of Chile's kiwi exports."
In turn, Carlos Cruzat, the president of the Kiwi Committee of Chile, said: "We expect a moderate increase in kiwi exports worldwide this season. Exports are expected to increase by around 3%, amounting to nearly 180,000 tons. This season we are also introducing new quality parameters, which means that producers will leave the fruit in the plantations more time to achieve better levels of dry matter, soluble solids, and Brix degrees, which means they will obtain a sweeter fruit."