Asoex has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the China’s Association for the Promotion of Quality and Safety of China’s Consumer Products (CPQS), part of AQSIQ, to increase cooperation on trade between the two countries.
The signing ceremony took place during an official tour of President Michelle Bachelet to China and Indonesia.
The MOU commits both sides to share information in several areas related to the fruit trade such as quality and safety management systems and quarantine and inspection standards.
Asoex president Ronald Bown said: “This agreement will strengthen and further deepen the ties of friendship and cooperation between Chile and China in the fruit sector, by facilitating the exchange of experiences in production, export, promotion, quality and safety, as well as helping to reinforce commercial contacts between entrepreneurs of both countries”.
Chile exported almost 250,000 tonnes of fruit to China last season worth an estimated US$1.2bn, making it the biggest supplier of fruit to the Asian giant.
Eight fruits are authorised for entry: apples, table grapes, kiwifruit, plums, blueberries, cherries, avocados and, most recently, nectarines.
While Bown noted that China was an increasingly important destination for Chilean fruit, he stressed that “trade must be reciprocal”.
He said Asoex had committed its support to boosting imports of Chinese pears this year through promotions in the main supermarket chains, similar to the campaign carried out for apples from Shangdong some years ago.
