Brexit and Chilean fruit exports
The Commercial Director of ProChile in the United Kingdom, Ignacio Fernández, said that said The treaty transfers the conditions of the existing Association Agreement (AA) between Chile and the European Union (EU) to a bilateral one with the United Kingdom.
"The agreement between Chile and the United Kingdom will be applied once the latter country definitively leaves the European Union. And basically, it makes what we already had bilateral through the current agreement with the EU, therefore, the rules, rights and obligations that we had will become bilateral with the United Kingdom. Some modifications were incorporated, however, in terms of quotas for meat products, for example, but in general terms and as regards fresh fruit, they will be essentially the same. This also with regard to plant protection and tariffs, among others, ”said Fernández.
Thus, Chilean exporters will continue to count on the benefits they have had since 2003 through the AA to gain preferential access to the British market.
He also stressed that Chile became the first country in the world to sign an agreement of this type with the United Kingdom.
Now, when analyzing the situation of Chile in the UK within this Brexit framework, the Commercial Director of ProChile, specified: "That will depend a lot on the agreement that the United Kingdom is currently negotiating with the European Union. Between now and December 31, they must finish negotiating the future access conditions that they will have between them. Obviously, if these are very complicated for products like fruit, our products could benefit. Now, the safest thing is that things remain relatively the same and Chile maintains its preferences ”
He added that “in terms of market shares, it is probably going to remain quite similar because although the EU may lose a little of this share, the United Kingdom is also likely to negotiate agreements with other countries with the that today it did not have like New Zealand, Australia or some South American countries, which are also going to compete with Chile under preferential conditions ”.
Chile is a major exporter of organic products to the United KingdomAs in the case of fruits, this March Fernández pointed out: In relation to organic fruits and certifications, each company has to be responsible for having the corresponding international certifications to enter the United Kingdom. This will operate in the same way as under the Association Agreement with the EU ”
Likewise, He indicated that this agreement may be improved over time. ”The FTA between Chile and the United Kingdom has an evolutionary clause, which basically is to improve the access conditions for Chilean and / or British products. There will be a door to further improve the agreement for access conditions. Also, under this clause, other matters may be incorporated into the bilateral relationship, such as electronic commerce, ”he pointed out.
This evolutionary clause of agricultural goods establishes that in a period of two years (and every two years thereafter) the parties will review the situation of tariff liberalization for agricultural products, being able to improve conditions and take full advantage of its wide potential.
Numbers
According to figures from the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile AG (ASOEX), in 2018-2019 the exports of fresh fruits to England reached 100.951 tons, a country that ranks as the second largest recipient of Chilean fruit in Europe, with 18,2% of the total Chilean fruit shipped to that market.
The main fruits shipped to England were: apples with 27,5% of the total sent to that market, followed by table grapes with 24,6%, avocados with 15,9%, blueberries with 10,4%, kiwis with 8%, plums with 4,7%, nectarines with 2,5%, tangerines with 2,4%, cherries 1,9% and others with 2,4%
According to information from ProChile, the commercial exchange between Chile and the United Kingdom in 2018 reached 1.360 million dollars, which represents 19 percent more than the previous year.
Exports from Chile to the United Kingdom grew 17 percent (685 million dollars) in 2018 compared to the previous year, driven mainly by fruit, bottled wine and processed foods (without salmon).
Meanwhile, imports increased 21 percent during the same period ($ 675 million) compared to 2017.
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