Asoex held a meeting at the Chinese Embassy in Chile this week to finalise details ahead of the arrival of the first of Chinese pear imports in Chile.
Asoex president Ronald Bown said the action, which will see the association coordinate promotions and tastings in various retail outlets in Santiago, formed part of the policy to strengthen trade ties between the two countries.
“Within this framework of commercial reciprocity, Asoex, in a joint effort with the Agricultural Livestock Service, has supported the importation of the first two containers of Chinese pears to Chile, the first of which is already in our country and the second due to arrive in the first week of December,” Bown said.
“These are three varieties of high quality pears, which are not found in Chile, and that will be an opportunity for the national consumer to enjoy new types of high quality pears.”
The promotions will run from mid-December until mid-January 2018.
The reciprocity agreement also includes the negotiation of the entry of Chilean pears into China, a process that Asoex said are well on track.
According to Asoex figures, Chile exported more than 231,000 tonnes of fresh fruits to China in 2016/17, the main products being table grapes with 41.2 percent of total shipments, cherries (23.5 per cent), plums (11.7 per cent), apples (8 per cent), kiwifruit (7.6 per cent), avocados (5.4 per cent), blueberries (3.2 per cent) and nectarines (1.7 per cent).
The main pear varieties planted in China are Asian pears such as Snow pear, Ya pear, Huangguan pear, Fengshui pear, Fragrant pear, Fengshui pear, and Nanguo pear. The majority of pear production in China is harvested
