Chile's fresh produce exporters are well placed to cope with the challenging commercial environment during the coming year, according to Ronald Bown, chairman of the Chilean Exporters' Association, Asoex.
Speaking at the start of this year's Eurofruit Southern Hemisphere Congress in Santiago, Chile, Mr Bown insisted his country's export trade was adequately prepared to weather the coming economic storm, albeit with a certain degree of uncertainty about the possible impact on major consumer markets.'
'The financial crisis is a crisis of confidence, the full impact of which we don't yet know,' he told delegates. 'But our country is well equipped to cope.'
Chilean Agriculture Minister Marigén Hornkohl, who officially opened the conference, agreed that recessionary trends in several of the country's key export markets made collaboration between industry and government officials all the more crucial.
'The impact of the financial crisis is a major concern,' she said. 'Uncertainty caused by the crisis and the reaction of consumers has already manifested itself in a number of markets. What we need most of all is greater cooperation between the public and private sector.'
Ms Hornkohl also explained how significant a contribution the Chilean fresh fruit sector makes to the country's economy. 'We feel the country has great potential as a supplier,' she commented. 'Since the end of the 1980s, the fruit business in Chile has become very dynamic, becoming the leading supplier in the Southern Hemisphere and making continued progress in technology and research to maintain its competitive leadership.'
Mr Bown added that the issue of responsibility - or rather the lack of it among certain parts of the trade - could ultimately prove more important than the economic downturn in affecting producers and exporters.
'Customers are imposing ever more stringent rules, regulations and demands on Southern Hemisphere exporters, such as environmental protection and carbon emission control, but at the same time production costs are increasing' he said. 'The lack of harmonisation across these various demands is of great concern.'
The Eurofruit Southern Hemisphere Congress takes place on 2-4 December at the Grand Hyatt hotel in Santiago, Chile.
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