101 tons, Of the total exported, were sold to the United Kingdom by the Company
"Sociedad Exportadora Patagonia Cherries Limitada" from Chile Chico.
270 tons of cherries cultivated by small and large producers in this community,
were exported to Europe and Asia. It should be noted that Cherries Patagonia for the first time inspected and sealed, along with the SAG, their containers in Chile Chico and were only opened in the market destination.
Raul Rudolphi, Seremi of Agriculture, said that "we are building permanent opportunities for rural areas of Chile Chico. The large cherry volumes exported tell us that the rural commune, has enormous exporter potential, which is very much present in the Regional Aysen Government´s policies. From the commune cherries go out to European and Asian markets, wool to Uruguay and soon we may develop beautiful lambs for export to the world's most demanding markets."
The sector´s authority added that "in this sense, the International Seminar that is
organizing the Ministry of Agriculture along with ProChile and Fedefruta, to be held on May 10th in Chile Chico, will offer insight into new species of fruit that will permit us to diversify the export matrix in the region. "
Meanwhile, Francisco Galleguillos, company representative for Sociedad Exportadora Patagonia Cherries Ltd. said that this sale has been a historic achievement. "This year we have had a record season in export with 101 tons of cherries, that were sent to the English market (UK). The Ministry of Agriculture has been well committed to the issue of cherry export, they are always concerned and come often to Chile Chico. At least in these recent years support has been strong, not only for us, but also for small producers, since there is more support for them now, more presence on the ground."
Diego Arribillaga, researcher at INIA, gave technical details about the research that
the institute conducts in the field, so as to support small and medium cherry producers. "INIA currently manages a cherry post harvest project by which we validate the process of export from Chile Chico. We are working on three lines: first is to give farmers the evaluation of new late varieties of cherries, second is the management of the crop as such to ensure that the fruit has a better quality of life after harvest, and the third is post harvest storage systems," he said.