The president of ASOEX, Iván Marambio, made a positive analysis of the development of cherry exports to China, after his recent trip to that Asian market. In addition, the leader referred to the situation of the Chinese market within the framework of Covid, the logistical improvements, and also addressed the potential of the Indian market as a recipient of fresh fruit from Chile.

Marambio celebrated the record for cherry exports. "In volumes we are going to have a record 83 million boxes -of 5 kilos- of cherries exported to the world, with China taking more or less 90% of that volume." He recalled that last season 71 million 5-kilo boxes were exported to the world, therefore, at least in volumes, this is a record season.

He argued that “the potential to continue growing in China is close to a potential ¨without limit¨. Today, the Cherry Committee invests 6 million dollars to encourage the consumption of our cherries in the world, and the largest percentage goes to China, as it is the main market."

He added that China has a very interesting reality, since it is stratified into cities of different orders or levels. "Our cherries reached level 1 cities. While today there is an important focus on reaching second and third order cities, that is, not only being present on the coasts of China, but also inland, which is where we are promoting our promotions, and where we want to reach with greater force with our volumes the following season (…). We believe that we will exceed 100 million boxes in 2 more years”.

To boost these higher volumes, ASOEX together with its Cherries Committee is working to improve the logistics chain and boost its consumption. “For the same reason, we are working on diversifying the ports to these regions. This year we opened the northwestern port, the Port of Dalian, where the Cherry Express began to arrive for the first time. In addition, we are present very strongly with our promotional campaigns, for example, via online. In fact, we met with representatives from TikTok and Alibaba to promote these channels, where both platforms are notable.

It should be remembered that, during the visit to China, ASOEX signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the operator of the port of Dalian, Liaoning Port Group and the shipping company Maersk, with the aim of working cooperatively to improve import of Chilean cherries and other fresh fruits in Northeast China. Thus, as well as, he met with the representatives of the port of Nansha, in Guangzhou.

As for the situation in China after "Covid Zero", he specified that "the market looks quite auspicious, which is coupled with the fact that logistics have worked and that the lifting of Covid restrictions has improved, in general, the reception of the fruit and its distribution”. Marambio also described the situation in China as normal, indicating that there is no fear in the sector regarding a market closure due to Covid.

India

The president of ASOEX, during the interview, also analyzed the potential of the Indian market for national exports. ” India surpassed China in population, there is also a growth of the middle class and its purchasing power. For the same reason, we believe that the Indian market could become the second China”.

However, he indicated that this requires progress on issues such as the high tariffs that Chilean fruits must face, as well as logistical conditions.

Complete interview