With an aim to promote Chilean exports by forging ties with Indian importers, the Embassy of Chile held a seminar on 'Exportable products from Chile' recently. It discussed the Partial Trade Agreement (PTA) for expansion and fostering of ties between the two countries, which is under legal review.
For Indian importers, the seminar, through presentation, revealed the opportunities that the Chilean markets presented to them. The presentation by Carolina Vasquez M, trade commissioner of Chilean Promotion Bureau or ProChile, highlighted the exportable products from Chile. She pointed out how Chile had achieved a reputation as a food powerhouse and pointed out some areas where India could be a huge market for Chile.
Speaking on the Partial Trade Agreement (PTA) that India and Chile were negotiating, she said, “Chile and India are negotiating to bring down tariffs of the products which are exported between the two nations. We have been waiting for six long years to finalise the trade agreement between India and Chile. Presently, the partial agreement is in practice which has gained 17 per cent of the overall trade carried between the nations.”
Expansion of the trade agreement
Further, Chile is interested in bringing wine to India, as it ranks as the leading supplier of bottled wine among 12 nations in Latin America. Vasquez M confirmed that currently ministry of commerce, India, had put wine imports to India on hold with regards to PTA. However, according to her, Chile was keen on getting bottled wines to India in the future as part of PTA expansion.
Speaking to FnB News with regard to PTA and its products, Vasquez M said, “We have a PTA with India since 2007. This is a small agreement that covers only 474 products (from both sides). In terms to increase the trade between India and Chile, both nations started negotiating on the products in the year 2011 to expand PTA. This means to expand the number of products covered under PTA to more than 2,000 (from both sides) and also cover other aspects related to the trade such as sanitary and phytosanitary measures and other technical barriers to trade. Last month, the Indian cabinet approved the final text and currently we are working on the legal review of the agreement.”
Speaking on Chilean food products, Vasquez M, said, “We have a very long coastline which supports several seafood varieties. Apart from seafood, there are fresh fruits which are exported. They include grapes, apples, citrus, cherries, avocados and blueberries and others. With such a huge exportable products profile, we see Indian market as a significant region for our exports.”
She added, “It is a long process of negotiation. Each product from both the nations will be negotiated. Among these 2,000 products, 1,200 are products from Chile which can be exported to India.”
Chile's exports to India and the globe dominate mainly in seafood and fresh fruits exports. Sunil Sachdev, Aayush Impex, a regular importer of fresh fruits from Chile, said, “These negotiations which are undertaken by Chile and India will not make much difference with regards to the Indian imports or exports. Most of the products which are being negotiated are from Chile, very less products will be exported to Chile from India. The department of commerce will soon bring clarity over the PTA and its negotiations.”
Meanwhile, the seminar saw participation by more than 30 importers with high level of interest in Chilean products in various sectors such as fresh fruits, dried fruits, salmon and shellfish. Additionally, few minutes were dedicated to tourism in Chile, showcasing the beauty of the country.
As for India’s exports to Chile, the seminar was informed that in food category, mango, Basmati rice and spices were the major contributors of Indian exports to Chile.
