The Board of Directors of the Chilean Fruit Cherry Committee elected a new president and board of directors, which will lead the work of the entity within the next 2 years. During the election process, Mario Edwards Correa, who is currently the commercial manager of Agrofruta SA, was elected as the new president.
Edwards replaces Cristián Tagle, who performed an important role as president of the entity. “We appreciate all the work and commitment of Cristián, under whom we as a Committee grew and undertook successful actions. Together with Cristián we carried out important work to consolidate our presence in our main market, China. Today, the challenge is to continue growing, increasing consumption and facing challenges, such as phytosanitary issues, in a united manner. We welcome Mario for taking on this task to continue promoting our industry,” said Claudia Soler, executive director of the Committee.
The new President
Mario Edwards is a commercial engineer, graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where he also studied a Master in Business Administration, preceded by an MBA Exchange program at Northwestern University – Kellogg School of Management.
The new president of the Cherry Committee has a long career in the Chilean fruit production and export sector, especially cherries; and since 2019 he has been a director on the Chilean Fruit Board.
To learn more about this appointment, Mario Edwards gave us his impressions on the challenges of the new position, as well as the work of the Committee under his leadership.
How do you feel about being appointed as the new president of the Chilean Fruit Cherry Committee?
As a tremendous challenge, the cherry industry in Chile has been a great driving force of Chilean fruit growing, and being able to contribute to its development in such changing scenarios is a great responsibility. Being part of the committee since its beginning is a great pride, and chairing it, even more so.
Was it a difficult decision to run for this position? What motivated you?
It is not an easy decision, because it requires a lot of time; however, all the people who work in the Committee, and in Frutas de Chile, are a tremendous team that ultimately makes this challenge easier. In addition, all the directors have offered me their support to be able to carry out a successful work.
It is very important to me that all partners feel very involved and part of the committee, and that it is not seen as an instance where only a few make the decisions.
This new 2024-2025 season is challenging for the cherry sector due to the fruit fly outbreak in Chimbarongo. How do you take on this challenge and what is your vision on it?
There have been no fruit fly findings south of Angostura for many years, so it is essential to find effective ways of collaborating and solving the problems that their presence entails. It is a challenge for the entire industry that requires individual, but also collective, efforts. Each season is different, there are no simple recipes or solutions, but in past years we have overcome challenges that seemed quite insurmountable and we all hope that this will not be the exception.
Will your leadership of the Committee mark a new stage? Will there be new issues to work on?
The committee has a history of several years, with great success in bringing together more than 80% of the total cherry exports in Chile. Without a doubt, the task is to continue trying to incorporate those who are not there and for members of all sizes to feel even more involved. We want to advance the commitment of members to a sustainable development of this activity, where there are many people involved in each part of the process.
Will the fact that you represent a small production and exporting company in relation to other members of the Committee allow you to give your leadership a vision from this sector?
As I said before, the committee already has its history and one must represent the interests and challenges of all, which are obviously different, both large, medium and small.
In this last election, 5 new directors were elected, including a representative of a Chinese company. This demonstrates the validity and great interest in participating in the Committee on the part of member companies.
New Directory
It is worth noting that, in parallel with the election of the new president, the new board of directors was formed during the day, consisting of the following companies:
1.-San Francisco lo Garces
2.-Copefrut
3.-Dole
4.-Frusan
5.-Ranco
6.-Prize
7.-Geofrut
8.-Unifrutti
9.-Aurora Australis
10.-Cerasus
11.-Verfrut
12.-David del Curto
13.-XSur
14.-Agrofruit
15.-Fruttita
16.-Quelen
17.-CyL
18.-Greenex
19.-The Park
20.-Goldanda
21.-Subsole
22.-Fruka
23.-Rucaray
24.-Saint Clement
