In order to strengthen and advance this season's actions to promote fresh Chilean fruit in international markets, the president of ASOEX, Iván Marambio; the general manager of the entity, Miguel Canala-Echeverría, and Ignacio Caballero, marketing director of ASOEX, met with the new general director of ProChile, Ignacio Fernández; Cythia Carrasco, Chief of Staff, and Yolanda Pizarro, Head of Agro&Alimentos at ProChile.
On this occasion, ASOEX representatives presented to the new Director the subjects and central axes of future work between ASOEX and ProChile.
They highlighted that fresh fruit is the second largest export sector in Chile, generating 26 times more jobs per dollar exported than copper, and at the same time being an important generator of first-class taxes of over USD$500 million. They also highlighted that the export of fresh fruit has shown sustained growth over time, which is reflected in an annual growth rate of 9%, and a growth of more than 32 times in the last 40 years.
During the meeting, the president of ASOEX highlighted the importance of Asoex for the growth and development of the fresh fruit sector in the agricultural sector and in the country. “Asoex is an organization with a long history and experience, with more than 85 years of existence, and great representation, since, (more than 90% of the total fruit exported from Chile to the world), while 54% of its members have been or are small and medium-sized companies.”
For the same reason, he added: “The meeting with the new general director of ProChile was very positive and key, not only because we have been working together with ProChile for many years, but also to continue promoting the knowledge and consumption of our fruits in international markets that are of great interest to the sector. We must not forget that our country exports around 2.7 million tons of fresh fruits to different markets around the world every season, and promotions are important to encourage consumption.”
“Promotional actions, as well as the participation of the sector in fairs and other types of events in the sector at national and international level are vital to accelerate our penetration, especially in such important markets as those in Asia, and to recover positioning and consumption in markets such as the United States and Europe, which, although they are more mature markets, we still find room for further growth in them.”, he added.
In the same vein, Miguel Canala-Echeverría noted: “Promotional actions are important to maintain competitiveness in the markets, especially when we witness the increase in competition during the Chilean fruit season.”
It was highlighted that with the support of ProChile's Forestry and Agriculture Fund, 21 promotional campaigns were developed in the 2022-2023 season, for a value of more than 10 million dollars. In North America, actions were carried out in the USA, Canada and Mexico. In Europe, actions were focused, especially in Spain and Germany. While in Asia, promotions were developed in China, South Korea and India.
Finally, the president of ASOEX highlighted that the promotions are carried out under the brand Fruit From Chile, benefiting the awareness and consumption of all Chilean fruits, as well as a positive image of Chile. He also highlighted the importance of continuing to advance in the joint work with ProChile both in Chile and in international markets, together with ProChile's commercial attachés around the world.
