The Fruit Exporters Association of Chile AG, Asoex, received the mayor of Rotterdam (Netherlands), Ahmed Aboutaleb, who, accompanied by a group of businessmen, gained insight into the reality of the Chilean fruit export sector, and was able to analyse the business opportunities and services that the Port of Rotterdam could offer the national fruit.
"The visit from the Mayor of Rotterdam seeks to highlight and celebrate the relationship that this important port has with Chile, with Asoex's partner companies and fruit exporters. The vast majority of fruit exports are made to the port of Rotterdam. Therefore, this meeting was important for ASOEX and for us. We wanted to know if there were any problems or issues we could improve on, and we had a very positive answer. The relationship continues to grow for the benefit of both parties. There is mutual admiration, "said Marion Kappeyne Van de Coppello, ambassador of the Netherlands in Chile.
In turn, the mayor of Rotterdam, Ahmed Aboutaleb, said: "Chile exports a significant volume of fruit through the Port of Rotterdam, about 300,000 tons of products every year, and we can distribute this volume between the 500 million population in Europe, which makes us a major trading partner, especially when it comes to fruit exports. Today, with this visit, we seek to deepen and expand our business relationship. In fact, I suggested we perform a study to establish a Business Council between Chile and the Netherlands to strengthen business activities because we know Chile's fruit sector needs proper port logistics, transport logistics, water and other materials in which we can contribute with our technology. In addition, we can help them export their products to different parts of the world. We are talking about a situation where the two countries can win."
"Fundamentally, this meeting reaffirms our ties with the port of Rotterdam, which is our main gateway to Europe. But it is also a fundamental part of the logistics process we have to perform so we can ship our products faster and more efficiently; as well as increasing the potential services we can offer in certain areas, such as with pre-maturing kiwi, we could be competing with countries that are offering something similar, so we need to have certainty. In this sense, ports and logistics are very important. Therefore, we are happy with the visit of the mayor of Rotterdam and hope it will bring good things," said Ronald Bown, president of Asoex.
Chilean fruit
According to figures from Asoex, Chile exported 559,883 tons of fruit to Europe during the 2013-2014 season (1 September 2013-30 August 2014), 246,846 tons of which were admitted by the Netherlands.
Among other fruits, 64,044 tons of apples were shipped to the Netherlands, 69,192 tons of table grapes, 48,853 tons of avocado, 13,390 tons of kiwis, 9,314 tons of blueberries, 3,791 tons of limes, 548 tons of oranges, and 708 tons of tangerines.