In recent years the Chilean avocado has positioned itself in Chinese stores and tables thanks to its quality, which is as good as that of the main avocado exporters in the world.
The avocado is a creamy fruit produced in the valleys of central and northern Chile, which have privileged climatic conditions and fertile plains that favor the appearance of this fruit.
"The Chilean avocado has a high quality," Francisco Contardo, the general manager of the Hass Avocado Committee of Chile told Xinhua.
The representative of the organization that brings together producers and exporters of avocado in Chile said that, for the third consecutive year, they would promote the avocado in China this year, as they've had very good results.
"Last season avocados grew by nearly 34 percent in terms of volume in the Chinese market, where consumers are increasingly learning to consume avocados," said Contardo.
In November of the previous year, the commercial advisor of the Chilean embassy in China, Andreas Pierotic, stated that the volume of Chilean avocado exported to the Chinese market from 2016 to 2017 exceeded 13,000 tons.
This allowed Chile to surpass Mexico and become the largest supplier of avocados to China.
One of the biggest works carried out by the Chilean exporters of avocado has been the dissemination and promotion of this fruit in the Asian country, which a few years ago experienced the irruption of the avocado in its tables, kitchens and shop windows.
"Chile has done a very strong job in terms of education," stated Contardo about the initiatives to encourage the trade that they carry out together with ProChile, the agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dedicated to positioning Chilean products abroad.
You can either sell more or sell better. This year, we are focused on selling better. There is a lack of education about how much to consume, how to consume it, what color and how the avocado should be at the moment of eating it."
According to Chile's Hass Avocado Committee, the commercialization of avocado in China has registered an exponential increase since the country began exporting this fruit to China three years ago, with seasons that extend from July to April.
During the 2015-2016 season, Chile sold 3,970 tons of avocados to China, and in the 2016-2017 the country sold 11,000 tons of avocado to that market. Last season, Chile exported 14,860 tons of avocados to China.
The Chilean Minister of Agriculture, Antonio Walker, said the Chilean agricultural sector needed to open different markets with several million potential consumers, such as Southeast Asia, China, and India.
According to the Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies, Chile exported more fresh fruit in the first half of this year than in the same period of last year.
Chile exported 2,177,749 tons of fresh fruit in the first half of 2018, and 1,973,795 tons in the first six months of 2017.
Source: Xinhua