MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean wine exports reach 1.5 billion USD in 12 months, but profits down

A cheap dollar is eroding the industry’s competitiveness

Chilean bottled wine exports soared 33.3% and 25.8% during August in volume and value helping to reach the 1.5 billion US dollars and 749 million litres in the last twelve months, with 18.9% and 11.2% increases in volume and value according to the latest release from Vinos de Chile.

However wineries have warned that at the current exchange rate for the US dollar in Chile, the industry faces serious profitability challenges.

“We have reached our target of 1,5 billion US dollars in exports in twelve months but the profit ratio of agriculture and farm exports continues to be particularly battered by an exchange rate that directly attacks the sector’s competitiveness and generates instability. Hopefully a greater overall consensus regarding the foreign exchange rate problem soon generates measures from the competent authorities”, pointed out René Merino, Vinos de Chile president.

Meantime the board of Chile’s National Agriculture Society, SNA the country’s strongest farmers’ lobby announced Wednesday that it had begun a coordinated technical work with the Ministry of Finance to address the sustained fall of the US dollar in the Chilean money market.

“We agreed to a fluid contact and thus in this way created the instances and method to work and reach our goal”, said Luis Mayol, SNA president. He added there was a chance to set up a table of negotiations between the sector and government, but nevertheless “it’s the government that has to set up the mechanisms and ways for a meeting”.

Mayol said SNA is aware of the measures the government is attempting to implement, “but they won’t solve our short term problems”.

“We need quick and effective measures and to that respect we agreed to keep meeting and discussing, so with imagination and joint efforts the necessary measures can be implemented”, said Mayor.