Chile is enjoying a successful season in Europe, with sendings up by more than 10 per cent overall, according to Ronald Bown, chairman of the Chilean Exporters’ Association (Asoex).
“There have been many reasons for our exporters to look more towards Europe this year,” Bown told the Journal. “The Free Trade Agreement we signed with the EU is now showing real benefits and the exchange rate has been much better for us than in the previous three years.”
These factors have had a positive effect on all categories other than plums. A 90 per cent plus increase in exports to Europe year-on-year had a significant effect on returns. “We can’t control mother nature,” said Bown, “and there was a huge crop. But we cannot afford to put these types of volumes into the market consistently.
“It is down to the growers and exporters to decide upon a sustainable strategy, which is not easy in Chile because no-one is obliged to do things that might be normal in other countries. We will sit down on a voluntary basis and discuss ways to ensure that this does not happen again.”
Bown was speaking at Fresh2004 in Venice, which was focused on the recent EU enlargement. He expects Chilean exports to maintain their existing routes to market, at least in the short term. “There are still infrastructural issues that will avoid a flood of fresh fruit sendings direct to central Europe. The EU25 will have an affect, and perhaps sooner than some people expect, but it will not be immediately obvious.”
The concern of Asoex, he said was the effect of enlargement on harmonisation of regulations and standards. “It was already a problem in the existing EU15 and it will now become an even bigger issue. Where there is no administrative structure to support harmonisation it is unlikely to take place. This could lead to competition for our growers from lower quality products, but this is all part of the game and we are confident that our commitment to food safety and ChileGAP makes us better prepared than other suppliers to the EU market," said Bown.
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