China now is Chile's leading trade partner, with their bilateral trade volume having grown fourfold in the past decade, local media reported on Monday.
"In 2015, Chilean exports to China amounted to $16.671 billion, while imports totaled $14.8 billion," El Mercurio, a Chilean local daily, said.
In 10 years, "the trade volume between the two countries has grown fourfold from $8.122 billion in 2005 -- the year before a free trade agreement (FTA) went into effect -- to $31.471 billion in 2015," it said, adding that "this figure represents 25 percent of Chile's foreign trade."
The average trade balance over this period has been about $4.234 billion.
Over the past 10 years, the number of Chilean companies that exported to China has more than doubled, increasing from 477 in 2006 to 1,084 in 2015.
"Today national foods have significantly penetrated the Chinese market," it said, adding that Chile was China's top supplier of fresh cranberries and cherries last year, while 77 percent of China's whole salmon and fresh plum imports come from Chile.
In addition to the cherries and cranberries, the food items that have driven growth of export to this area also include beef and lamb.
