Chile Indonesia talks

A Chilean delegation led by members of the Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG) and exporter association Asoex met with the Indonesian authorities in the final leg of a tour of Asia to discuss widening market access for Chilean products. In the case of fresh fruit, this involves allowing imports to re-enter the country through the Port of Jakarta.

Shipments have been prevented from entering the port since 2011 due to concerns of fruit fly and have instead had to pass through the Port of Surabaya, 1,000km away from the Indonesian capital, making Chilean fruit less competitive.

During the meeting, Ricardo Rodriguez, SAG’s head of fruit fly programme, made a technical presentation outlining the monitoring system used to keep Chile free from the pest and giving details of how the industry handles an outbreak.

The Indonesian government agreed to visit Chile in November or December of this year to inspect the system, after which it could lift the ban on Chilean fruit being shipped through Jakarta.

The Indonesian authorities also gave a presentation on its new food safety rules for fresh produce which are due to come into effect in the first quarter of 2016.

Juan Enrique Moya, Chile’s newly appointed agriculturla attaché in Indonesia, welcomed the negotiations and said they would “help to establish a road map to resolve issues that are in the interest of both countries”.