The Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile AG (ASOEX), together with ProChile, made a new exploratory tour to one of the most attractive emerging markets in the world, India.
The mission consisted of a group of representatives of five export companies of fresh fruits from Chile, the Commercial Attaché of Chile in India, Carolina Vasquez; the Marketing Director of ASOEX for Asia and Europe, Charif Christian Carvajal, and Paulina Escudero, an agronomist engineer of ASOEX.
"The Indian market is very important for various reasons, including its large population, (which according to the latest United Nations publication India will surpass China by 2024), the growth of its economy and the middle classes, which generates a great attraction for the industry. India presents as an opportunity to diversify exports. It's a market that shows great potential and where it is necessary to have a long term strategy. These types of activities allow the Chilean export sector to start visualizing the different options that the market has and to generate long-term relationships with importers. It also allows us to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the extension of the Partial Agreement between Chile and India, which has been in force since 2017," Carolina Vasquez said.
Charif Christian Carvajal, said: "We have visited New Delhi and Bombay. In both cities we had business meetings with importers and local distributors, and also visited wholesale markets and supermarket chains. Small, medium, and large Chilean export companies related to cherries, plums, kiwis, table grapes, apples, and pears are involved in the tour. There is a special interest to see the potential of this market, especially for Chilean cherries and pears."
India
According to the 2016 Census, India has a population of 1.324 billion people. It is the fourth most important economy in the world in terms of purchasing power and the second one in terms of growth. Its GDP grew by 6.6% in 2017, reaching USD $ 2.597 billion, according to the latest figures from the world bank, based mainly on the services and research sector, which represent 52% of the country's GDP.
India is still a distant country for many people, but the truth is that its current economy and sustained growth in recent years, opens an opportunity for the diversification of markets for Chilean products, such as its fruit, which is necessary to explore to achieve commercial relations between Chile and India; which is the main objective of the prospecting activities carried out in these days. "ASOEX considers that it's necessary to carry out these actions because they are vital to get to better know new markets, while establishing relevant contacts that allow us to start or consolidate activities," added Carvajal.
It should be noted that, just a few months ago, the Kiwi Committee of Chile, a group of exporters and producers of kiwi from Chile, ASOEX, ProChile, and a group of importers from India, carried out the first promotional campaign of Chilean fruit in this market, which had an important impact and was a fundamental support for the propagation of the Chile brand in this market.
Exports
According to data from ASOEX, Chile currently exports apples, kiwis, table grapes, pears, plums, and cherries, among other products, to India.
In the 2016-2017 season, Chile sent more than 29,000 tons of fresh fruit to India. 82.1% of the volume exported was of apples.