An initial protocol has been signed allowing Chile to export avocados to China by representatives of the Chilean embassy and China's quarantine department, AQSIQ, in Beijing on 7 July.
Alvaro Aspee from the Chilean embassy’s agricultural office signed the preliminary protocol alongside Chen Hongjun, deputy director of AQSIQ's department of supervision on animal and plant quarantine.
The protocol stipulates that Chilean avocados must come from areas free of Mediterranean fruit fly and comply with China’s phytosanitary regulations.
The protocol will last two years and will come into effect once two AQSIQ officials have inspected avocado orchards in Chile alongside AQSIQ’s Chilean counterpart, the Agricultural and Livestock Service of Chile (SAG).
'The signing of this initial protocol is very good news for the industry, and the results of a long joint partnership between the Chilean public and private sector,” Ronald Brown, president of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association, told Fruitnet.
“As an industry, we appreciate the support of the authorities, especially the Ministry of Agriculture and our phytosanitary authorities SAG, who at all times have accompanied us in our desire to open up China as a new destination market for Chilean avocados.'
The agreement comes after a SAG delegation visited China for bilateral meetings with AQSIQ officials in Beijing, alongside the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association and the agricultural office of the Chilean embassy.
“In order not to wait for a high level meeting, we use a format in which we initialise some agreements,” Aspee told Fruinet. “Later on, the agreements will be duly signed by the corresponding ministers, but by using this format, the export process can proceed from the date of initialisation.”
Using this method, Aspee said protocols have been signed for exports of shelled walnuts, apples and live cattle, opening up new markets for Chilean products and increasing trade between China and Chile.
Ripening the taste for avocados
Chile is now the only country apart from Mexico that can ship avocados to China, and while the demand for avocados is growing, there is still some way to go in terms of educating consumers.
“Undoubtedly, there is some work on consumer awareness to do,” said Aspee, adding that the rise in blueberry consumption was a good example of the potential for new produce to garner interest from China’s growing middle class.
“Despite the Chinese not being familiar with avocados, I see a good starting point in that now every juice store I enter in China has a picture of an avocado. This shows that the Chinese associate the fruit with health – a promising sign for developing this market.”
Aspee estimates most shipments of avocados will arrive in China via seafreights, though negotiations are underway to combine air and sea shipments, allowing direct shipments to second-tier cities by air.
Two AQSIQ officials have also visited apple-growing regions in Chile this week, in order to verify Chile’s apple export processes meet the phytosanitary requirements agreed upon by the two countries earlier this year.
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