The Chilean Fresh Fruit Exporters Association (Asoex) believes there is still “room to grow” across North America in the years to come and remains “strongly committed” to the major consumer market.
“One of our principal objectives is to increase our country’s competitiveness, and we intend to achieve this with the creation and development of product-specific committees and good agricultural and labour practices programmes,” explained Asoex president Ronald Bown in a press release.
Exports of Chilean fruit to Canada topped US$525m in 2010, making the South American country the seventh-largest source of imports into Canada, Asoex said.
Fresh table grapes and apples rank among the top five agri-food imports in Canada during recent years, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
“Canada’s imports from Chile have been steadily increasing since 1995 and are currently almost 200 per cent of what they were at that time; growing from about US$164m to about US$488m (in 2008),” reported Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
Total Chilean blueberry exports to Canada have increased during the last three seasons, according to the Chilean Blueberry Committee, with direct sendings in 2010/11 rising by 56 per cent.
“In Canada alone, Chilean blueberry imports are expected to top the 48 per cent increase in volume over last season,” stated Andrés Armstrong, the Committee's executive director.
Chilean exporters have also recorded an increase in cherry shipments this season, with approximately 848 tonnes entering Canada.
In addition, Canadian markets have reported higher table grape sales rates from Chile in early April, according to SimFRUIT, the official Chilean fresh fruit intelligence market system.
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