"This is the first time we have carried out a promotion that highlights all of Chile's fresh fruit export offer available in the Korean market. This time we are carrying out our campaign in the E-Mart supermarket, specifically with table grapes, cranberries and cherries," said Charif Christian Carvajal, the Marketing Director of ASOEX for Europe and Asia.
Carvajal also said that this promotion marked the end of the activities that have been carried out in this market to encourage the awareness and consumption of Chilean cranberries and cherries, and that it also marked the beginning of the table grapes export campaign to this Asian market.
He also said that Korea was the third destination of Chilean fruits within the Asian market. During 2016-2017, this market received 45,713 tons of Chilean fruits, i.e. 9.3% of the total exported to Asian markets.
The campaign is part of the promotional initiatives planned for 2017-2018 in Asia, and it is being organized, jointly by Frutas de Chile - through its sub-sector brands Grapes From Chile, Blueberries from Chile, and Cherries from Chile-, ASOEX, and the Fund for the Promotion of Forestry Exports of the Ministry of Agriculture, which is administered by ProChile.
Table grapes: The queens of spring in Korea
Chile is the main supplier of table grapes in South Korea. The Marketing Director of ASOEX for Asia and Europe, stressed that table grapes represent almost 73.1% of Chile's fresh fruits exports to the Korean market, which is why it's important to boost their consumption.
Chile also exports kiwis with 10.7% of the total share sent to Asia, lemons 7.7%, blueberries 3.5% and cherries with 3%.
According to data from the Korean International Trade Association, table grapes are among the Koreans' top 10 preferred fruits. They are the main fruit sold in the E-Mart chain, and the second most sold fruit in the Lotte Mart. As a result, fresh grapes are considered the Queens of Spring by retail chains and consumers in Korea.
Source: SimFRUIT