Study of the Chilean fruit industry: “2030: Together, Our Fruit Will Be Worth More”
We are rapidly entering the era of robotics, without any doubt. The vertiginous technological advance has reached almost all of human actions and Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a vital tool to improve production, research or knowledge processes. The Internet of Things (IoT), for example, has made it possible to order the tangible and non-tangible resources that we have, in addition to human resources, allowing us to know in detail the route and complete process of the products and assess their impact on the markets and consumers
In this context, the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile AG (Asoex), together with the Federation of Fruit Producers of Chile (Fedefruta) and other organizations, are developing the research initiative “2030: Together, Our Fruit Will Be Worth More”, which seeks to improve the competitiveness achieved in recent decades and deepen the technological capacity of the Chilean fruit industry compared to its competitors.
The initiative, led by Asoex and Fedefruta, with the contribution of the companies Anasac and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and supported by the Government of Chile through the agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture, Odepa, ProChile and Sence, seeks to clear up unknowns regarding the production process and markets, and discover the effects that we should expect for agrofruticultural activity in the next three, five and ten years, in such a way as to facilitate the planning and development of productive and commercial strategies. The report will also make it possible to investigate the future reality of producers, workers and the different actors involved in the Chilean fruit industry.
The study is carried out in a context of 12% growth of the world population and 18% growth per capita of food consumption by 2030, and an 80% growth in the case of the consumption of fruits and vegetables, which opens up great expectations for the national and Latin American industry in general.
The research focuses on thirteen fruit species: Blueberries, apples, table grapes, kiwis, avocados, pears, cherries, plums, clementines, tangerines, oranges, lemons, apricots and peaches (nectarines and carozos).
According to a first advance of the study, it is observed that in the aspect of competitiveness the challenges of the Chilean fruit industry that are being investigated are located in five dimensions: As the productive factors; the state; consumers and the market; the Support Industry, and sectoral coordination.
In the field of productive factors a production curve at full harvest that is slower than the competitors stands out; climatological resources marked by a deficit of rainfall and a significant increase in temperatures; increasingly scarce water resources, which places Chile in 18th place among the countries with the highest water risk in the world; the need for a varietal replacement that requires a significant investment and is marked by protected varieties that are being preferred by consumers; a labor situation where the scarce availability of qualified labor stands out and with lower productivity than other origins; and production technologies, such as genetic biotechnology, precision agriculture, automation, and robotics, which require skilled labor and greater rural connectivity.
In the dimension STATUS, the lack of budget of the Minagri and the SAG is relevant to be able to face phytosanitary challenges under a long-term strategy and the need for a greater participation of the private sector.
In the advancement stands out, in the case of consumers and markets, the reduction of commercial windows historically supplied by Chile due to greater external competition and also due to shortcomings in local production.
With regard to the Support IndustryAttention is drawn to the ports of Valparaíso and San Antonio, which concentrate the logistics of 80% of fruit exports, and which are generally affected by labor disputes and stoppages of activities. In the field of logistics, attention is also drawn to the long distance between Chilean ports and destination markets, which places the country in a situation that must be addressed compared to competitors, highlighting the efforts made by exporting companies of cherries to China.
This diagnosis stems from a 50% advance in the study, which brings together interviews and information provided by key actors in the Chilean industry and international actors, leaving the competitiveness issues that affect the sector to be defined more clearly.
Regarding the competitiveness aspect, 12 main themes were identified, of the many expressed by the interviewees, that affect the fruit competitiveness of Chile, as is the case of phytosanitary regulation and pest management; Market access; Export promotion through campaigns and country image; Water resources and climatology; Logistics and production infrastructure; Food safety; Regulation of the Labor Market; Access to financing; R + D + ie implementation of technologies; Variety replacement and management of new varieties; Sectorial coordination and mobilization of the sector, and Sustainable fruit growing.
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