In order to analyze and learn about topics of interest for the fresh fruit export sector in India, the recently appointed Agricultural Attache of Chile in India, Eugenio Aguilo, held a meeting with representatives of the Fruit Exporters Association of Chile AG (ASOEX) and product committees that operate under said union.
The meeting was held in ASOEX offices, and was attended by Ronald Bown, the President of ASOEX, Miguel Canala-Echeverria, the general manager of the entity; Sergio Maureira, the entity's Secretary General; Ignacio Caballero, its Deputy Marketing Manager, and Carlos Cruzat, the Chairman of the Kiwi Committee; Julia Pinto, the Technical Manager of the Blueberries Committee, Marcela Triviño, an Agronomist of ASOEX, and Ricardo Adonis, the Development Manager of the Fruit Development Foundation (FDF).
India is a market that is arousing more and more interest every day for the Chilean fruit export sector, not only because of its large number of inhabitants but also for its economic growth, which has resulted in an increase of the middle class that, according to estimates, would be in consuming imported and gourmet products.
"Meeting with the new agricultural aggregate was very positive because our interest is to work together with the people that represent us in international markets to improve the income of Chilean fruits, especially in the markets that have potential for our shipments," said Ronald Bown, the President of ASOEX.
Eugenio Aguilo also highlighted their interest in continuing the collaborative work. "It's been a very positive meeting. It's not the first time that I meet with ASOEX, as I have worked very closely with them before. ASOEX is a very important guild for Chile. It represents a very important sector for our economy, which I believe is the path to continue growing, because it is renewable resources. I know that I will have the support of ASOEX in my mission in India, because this is a four-legged table. It is made up by the Government of Chile, the Government of India, Chilean unions, and Indian importers."
Regarding his appointment, Aguilo said: "This is the first time I am in this kind of position. Under the Government of President Piñera I held the position of Director of the Information Center of Natural Resources (CIREN) and, until a few days ago, I was an advisor to the Ministry of Agriculture on regulatory issues. Now I will start a new path with great challenges, because it is a big market and some processes are slower than expected. So we will have to work harder, because our purpose is to open new markets for widest range of Chilean products in a market with more than 1.300 million inhabitants."
"India has special conditions. It is the largest democracy in the world, which makes some processes go a little slower. However, in the technological issue, it is a country with many advances, for example it is the main developer of software at a global level. In addition, its social structure is more complex, as there are political and religious aspects, among other things, that are in play," he added.
One of the main issues analyzed at the meeting was the importance that achieving the publication of the standard, which would allow the importation of avocados and blueberries through inspection, by the Ministry of Agriculture of India had for the fruit export sector. Currently these fruits can enter the Indian market, but under a quarantine treatment of fumigation of the fruit in origin, which harms their arrival condition, making their exportation unviable.
The representatives of the fruit exporters said the inspections were viable, as there are countries that export fruits to India under the same procedure and have a phytosanitary situation that is very similar to the Chilean one.
"We have been working for a long time with the Ministries of Agriculture of Chile and India to achieve this inspection. Today, we were able to present to the new agricultural representative of Chile in India, the issues that concern us, so that we obtain the support and efforts of the Chilean authorities in India," said the president of ASOEX.
Another topic of interest was related to the modifications that India has made to the regulations on pesticide residues, where there are aspects that require greater clarity, regarding the interpretation of the new regulations which came into force in the past month of December.
The promotions of Chilean fruit in India were also discussed in the meeting. The attendees highlighted the first promotion of Chilean kiwifruit in India, which was carried out in 2018 and had the support of the Kiwi Committee, a group of companies Chilean exporters, ProChile, and Indian importers. The exporters expect that said promotion campaign will also be carried out this season with the support of the Chilean Embassy, and the agricultural attache in India.
