Chile “concerned” by carbon debate

The Chilean fresh fruit industry has responded to Europe’s carbon footprint debate by commissioning studies into the release of CO₂ during their production and export processes in order to reduce its carbon footprint, according to a report by The Santiago Times.

Fruit shipments from Chile to the EU must pass through the Panama Canal and require 18-22 days of transit time covering roughly 13,000km – a factor which concerns Chilean suppliers given the move by various European retailers to label imported goods with carbon stickers.

Rodrigo Echevarría, the president of Chile’s fresh fruit grower association (Fedefruta), told the newspaper that Chilean fruit growers are concerned about the issue and are monitoring it closely.

“There needs to be a scientifically based frame of reference for measuring CO₂ emissions that come from all parts of the fruit growing process,” Mr Echevarría said.

“We strongly believe that our growers use far less pesticides and fertilisers than European growers, and if all these factors – and not just the distance travelled – are considered, our fruit will be quite competitive in terms of its CO₂ footprint.”

Scientists at the Agricultural Faculty of the University of Santo Thomás (UST) in Santiago are now working to accurately measure emissions during fruit production in order to develop techniques to reduce CO₂ production.

“Ongoing studies in different fruit exporting countries will reveal how much CO₂ is emitted during transport, since this varies with latitude,” said project leader Anthony Wylie. “What we then need to know is how much CO₂ is emitted here in Chile.”

If Chilean fruit production is very CO₂ friendly, Mr Wylie said the distance to the end market does not have to be a problem.