The Chilean government said this week that the US has opened its market to “virtually” all the country’s agricultural exports, following a meeting between Chile’s agriculture minister Marigen Hornkohl and US officials.
Ms Hornkohl told reporters that she was “full of satisfaction” at the outcome of the talks with officials from the US department of agriculture, according to Radio Santiago.
She stressed that it demonstrated the effectiveness of “the promises acquired by Chile and the US” through the signing of their Free Trade Deal.
“Starting from today, the US, which is Chile’s principal business partner, will offer many more opportunities to our agricultural exporters,” added Ms Hornkohl.
Among other significant developments, the agreement will mean that Chilean table grapes will be able to enter the US market without having to be first fumigated with methyl bromide. According to Chilean officials, through this concession, the country’s table grapes will arrive in the US in a better condition and at an improved quality than they have been to date.
The US is the principal destination for Chilean agricultural and horticultural exports, whose worth was estimated at more than US$2.5m last year.
