United States Secretary of Agriculture: "There is a growing demand for blueberries and other Chilean berries"
Tom Vislack, Secretary of Agriculture of the United States, landed in Chile last month for only two days, and within the framework of a very tight schedule the authority of the North American country met with President Bachelet and the minister of the portfolio in the country , Carlos Furche, with whom he addressed topics such as the new opportunities that are opened with the TPP and the challenges of climate change in agriculture, among others.
During the visit - which was part of a tour that included a stopover in Peru - he led a commercial delegation of 34 companies and US organizations that presented Chilean firms to 125 to expand opportunities for agricultural business between both countries. In those two days he also had the opportunity to have lunch with representatives of the most important guilds in our country, such as the National Society of Agriculture (SNA); the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile (Asoex); the National Federation of Fruit Producers (Fedefruta), the Association of Pork Producers (Asprocer); the National Federation of Dairy Agricultural Cooperatives (Fenaleche); and the guild that brings together the salmon farming companies, SalmonChile.
In this context and highlighting the good trade relations that Chile has with the US, Vislack assured that although the closeness between both countries is quite mature, since most of the important products for Chile are open to the US market, the shipments towards the American giant have great possibilities to continue growing.
One of them is fruit growing. "There is a growing demand for blueberries and other Chilean berries", He says. And he adds that in general there will be expansions for all the fruits and vegetables that Chile harvests. This is because, he said, the US government is encouraging younger generations to eat more fruits and vegetables. "I think there is a market there, but another that is also going to be important will be the Asian market, due to the expansion of the middle class that is taking place (in those countries)"he said.
He also highlighted the importation of Chilean wines in his country, and while acknowledging that purchases are not advancing at the rising rates in Asia, where an increase in the potential number of consumers is seen, in the US. the expansion in this matter is going to be "solid and consistent."
For these reasons, he considers that the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) will allow both Chile and the United States. can expand their business relationships with other markets. Although for the authority our country has a multitude of treaties with several nations, there are opportunities with some like Japan.
70% more food
Vislack recalled that in the future, specifically in 2050, there will be nine billion people, which means that 70% more food production than there is currently will be required, which he classified as "a great challenge." However, he warned that «if we see the context of the changing climate with more intense temperatures, more storms, longer droughts and floods, this will be an overwhelming task for all of us and requires us to work on innovation and regulatory processes».
Source: Revista del Campo
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