Iván Marambio, the president of the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile (Asoex), maintains that the main problem of the past export season was the logistics crisis. “The world did not bear the effects of the pandemic, added to those of the war in Ukraine. This caused a country like Chile, which lives on logistics due to its remoteness, to collapse,” he stated.
To this was added the slowness in the Chilean terminals to embark, a shortage of ships, table grapes stuck in ports of the United States, slowness for cherries to pass from Hong Kong to mainland China and shipping freight several times more expensive.
However, the fruit industry did not sit idly by and has been concerned with finding solutions. Some, such as the government's management with the Maritime and Port Chamber to speed up the works in the shipping terminals. Others that are more silent, such as ProChile's management with the Chinese port authorities in the perspective of facilitating the arrival of fruit and decongesting the arrival of fruit exports. According to the Asoex representative, this season the volume of fruit that will directly enter Chinese ports will increase significantly, avoiding Hong Kong.
Regarding the challenges that remain to be overcome, Iván Marambio highlights three main ones. On the one hand, the need to increase the number of truck drivers, and on the other hand, to increase the number of hours worked by officials of the National Customs Service and the Agricultural and Livestock Service who participate in the export process, especially in the period of greater cargo movement during the fruit season, and finally, improving access to ports, ends.
Source: blueberriesconsulting.com