Chile encourages Chinese entrepreneurs to invest in its booming agricultural sector

31/08/2015

"We show what we have up to now in this sector, and what potential there is for future investments of China in Chile", Explained to Efe the undersecretary of Chilean Agriculture, Claudio Ternicier, one of the high positions that accompany Frei in this mission.

Ternicier met in Beijing with eight entrepreneurs from firms that already import products from Chile or have an interest in starting trade or investment relations, and in Shanghai, the first stop of the delegation at the end of last week, did the same with representatives of 18 firms.

The message of these meetings with companies that are not only purely from the primary sector, said Ternicier, is that "Chile is an open country, and the conditions to invest or do business there are the same for nationals and foreigners".

Chile exported to China in 2014 food worth 2.600 million dollars (more than half of what it exports to all of Asia), and in the first half of this year, despite a context of slowdown in the Asian economy, sales They have already grown an 52 percent.

Chilean foods are already common in supermarkets in major Chinese cities, especially fruits such as grapes (the first food in Chile that arrived in this large Asian market), cranberry or cherry, but also pork, offal chicken and dairy, increasingly consumed by the citizens of this country.

Ternicier stressed that Chile will soon begin exporting avocados, nectarines or nuts, and will expand the range of seafood products already arriving in China.

Special mention deserves the Chilean wine, which has managed to unseat traditional producers and is already the most sold in China, with exports that exceed even the food (3.000 million dollars in 2014).

"Chinese entrepreneurs find that our wines outperform other global competitors in terms of their quality-price combination", Assured Efe Ternicier.

But during this visit, the Government of Chile does not want to limit itself to the promotion of this already growing trade, and therefore seeks to encourage Chinese investment in its primary sector, either by attracting Asian firms to cultivate in Chilean soil, or forming joint ventures between Chilean producers and Chinese importers.

Chinese investment in the Chilean sector, in fact, is already a reality, although it is still in the making: Ternicier put the curious example of Lenovo, the Chinese manufacturer of mobile phones and computers, which has a division, Joyvio, which grows fruit trees, mainly blueberries, in Chile.

The agricultural products of Chile, said Ternicier, offer great competitive advantages that can be of great interest to China, starting with its great diversity, which is a consequence of the many climates of the elongated country of the Southern Cone.

The Chilean territory, recalled the undersecretary, also has one of the five regions with Mediterranean climate on the planet, which meets the most ideal conditions for the cultivation of fruit trees.

Another advantage, he explained, is that being in the southern hemisphere can supply the northern countries with summer products in winter (and vice versa), which increases the variety of markets and business opportunities.

And above all, he stressed, "The quality of our products", As a result of its long experience of exports to the US and Europe, which has forced Chile to raise its requirements in terms of food safety to the maximum, a very important point for Chinese consumers.

Source: Infolatam.com