Chilean blueberries and avocados exported to India next season
The Chilean delegation also included the head of the SAG International Affairs Division, Veronica Echávarri; the Chief of the Agricultural and Forestry Protection Division of the SAG, Rodrigo Astete; as well as the Chilean Ambassador to India, Andrés Barbé; the Chilean Agriculture Aggregate in that country, Jaime González, and the General Manager of ASOEX, Miguel Canala-Echeverría.
"Reaching this agreement has been possible thanks to a long-term joint public-private work, which has included numerous negotiations and visits carried out between the representatives of both countries. The agreement foresees the certification by Phytosanitary Inspection to detect pests of interest for India in fresh blueberries, as well as the certification of fresh avocados from Chile to India through a Systems Approach. Exports are consequently expected to start from next season," stated the Undersecretary of Agriculture.
The Chilean Ambassador to India stressed that "currently, India is receiving avocado imports from New Zealand and blueberries from the United States and Canada, since they are not produced locally, so there is a huge marketing potential for both Chilean products, especially in the hospitality sector and in fruit stores. This agreement will allow us to diversify our exports and add avocados and blueberries to the list of products we were already shipping, which includes apples, grapes, kiwis, pears and cherries, thus expanding our presence in India."
For his part, and talking on behalf of the private sector, Miguel Canala-Echeverría, General Manager of ASOEX, commented that "the agreement signed in Delhi is excellent news for the fruit industry, as it will allow us, starting next season, to start exporting blueberries and avocados after more than 10 years of difficult negotiations."
The representative of ASOEX also thanked the efforts made by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) and the presence of the Undersecretary of Agriculture, "which shows the relevance that this issue has for our authorities," he affirmed.
During the public-private visit, and in an attempt to improve the access conditions for other Chilean products, the Chilean delegation proposed new alternative treatments that could be applied to walnuts for export, and a deadline was set to analyse the possible access of non-fumigated Chilean dehydrated plums.
It is worth noting that, during the meeting, representatives of the government of India asked for the speeding up of the process to allow access to products of interest for the country, such as mangoes and pomegranates.
Figures
During the 2015-2016 season, Chile exported more than 35,000 tonnes of fresh fruits to India, which represented an increase of close to 70% compared to the 2014-2015 campaign, which shows the importance of this market when it comes to the export of fresh fruits.
Of the more than 35 thousand tonnes exported, 89.9% corresponded to shipments of red apples, 9% to kiwis, 0.8% to table grapes, 0.3% to fresh plums and 0.1% to cherries and pears, respectively.