The first shipment of table grapes from Chile to Australia has apparently been suspended due to ongoing pressure from the Australian Table Grape Association (ATGA), according to a report by Diario La Segunda.
Frutam, the Chilean exporter coordinating the first consignment, has had to re-direct 15 containers of table grapes, worth more than US$1m, the report claimed.
The pressure against Chilean producers is “serious”, Ronald Bown, president of the Chilean Fresh Fruit Exporters Association (Asoex) told the newspaper.
According to Mr Bown, Australian importers and distributors have used the press to discourage the purchase of Chilean table grapes, arguing that the fruit is fumigated with methyl bromide and quality is inferior to Australian grapes.
But Antonio Walker, president of the Chilean Fruit Growers Federation (Fedefruta) has refuted the accusations, explaining that the process does not affect product quality.
Mr Walker described the behaviour of Australian table grape producers as “unacceptable”, adding that Australia’s campaign against Chilean grapes “goes against free trade” and the agreed principals under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Chile and Australia, which came into force in 2009.
Although Mr Bown explained to La Segunda that the situation would not imply a re-negotiation of the FTA, he pointed out that it remains “an important matter” that should be analysed during the next meeting of FTA administrators.
Already, Chile’s agriculture and foreign trade ministries are looking to resolve the problem by reaching out to Australian authorities via the Chilean ambassador in Australia, Pedro Pablo Díaz.
Going forward, Mr Bown said exports of Chilean table grapes to Australia would depend on the assurances offered by Australian marketers and authorities.
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