A group of Chilean fruit exporters has visited India as part of a trade mission organised by Asoex and ProChile to raise awareness of Chilean fruit in one of the world’s most important emerging economies.
“India is very important for various reasons, including its large population (which according to the United Nations will surpass China’s by 2024), growing economy and expanding middle class, and it is vital for Chile to develop a long-term strategy for the market,” said Carolina Vásquez, Chile’s commercial attaché in India, who accompanied the mission.
“With this type of activities, Chilean exporters can begin to visualise the different options presented by the market and at the same time start to build long-term relationships with importers, while also taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the recent extension of the bilateral trade agreement that has been in force since 2017.”
Charif Christian Carvajal, Asoex’s marketing director for Asia and Europe, said as part of the mission business conferences were held in New Delhi and Mumbai with local importers and distributors, as well as visits to the wholesale markets and supermarket chains.
“Small, medium and large exporters of cherries, plums, kiwifruit, table grapes, apples and pears took part in the mission,” Carvajal said. “There is a special interest among exporters to see the potential of this market, especially for cherries and pears.”
According to the 2016 Census, India has a population of 1.324bn, and is the fourth most important economy in the world in terms of purchasing power and the second in terms of growth.
Its GDP grew by 6.6 per cent in 2017, reaching US$ 2.597bn, according to the latest figures from the world bank, this being based mainly on the services and research sector, which represent 52 per cent of GDP.
