Chile is celebrating the entry of its first blueberry exports to China. An official ceremony at the Chilean Embassy in Beijing and a launch event of the first promotion of the fruit at the BHG supermarket chain were held last week.
Luis Schmidt, Chile’s ambassador in China and a former president of the Chilean fruit producers’ federation, Fedefruta said at the ceremony: “Chile is the second supplier of fresh fruit to China, exceeded only by Thailand. This encourages us to carry on with our efforts.”
Chile already exports apples, grapes, kiwifruit, plums and cherries to China and has become the first country to gain authorisation for entry of its blueberries to the world’s largest market. Miguel Canala-Echeverria, general manager of the fruit exporters association Asoex said: “Given our condition as producer and exporter of this fruit from the southern hemisphere, it is a natural complement of Chinese production. It will permit Chinese consumers to have fresh blueberries practically during the whole year.”
Retail activity at BHG included point-of-sale display material and tasting. Asoex president Ronald Bown said: “This is only the first step since we are preparing a future promotional programme to be developed jointly with our main importers and distributors in the Chinese market, including activities in specialised media, pos material and the development of recipe ideas.”
