MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Technology and packaging help Chilean fruit exports conquer Chinese market

Grasty and Walker (Pic) both see tremendous potential in the future of trade with China. Chile's sales to China “are just beginning,” according to Xinhua's report.

The standardisation of products through technology advancements has helped Chilean fruit exporters conquer China as a destination, it was the reported.

 Modern equipment has rendered Chilean fruit growers more competitive as it automates and perfects the packaging process. It also separates fruit by color, size, export destination and more, the Chinese newsagency Xinhua said.

“The fruit market is nothing like what it was 65 years ago,” Michael Grasty, president of David del Curto, a leading fruit exporting company, explained. The company this week celebrated 65th anniversary in the industry, with the last 15 years exporting to China

“People who eat a Chilean apple, grape or cherry is somehow getting a sense of what we are doing in Chile,” said Grasty, underscoring the importance of quality.

The company, which currently exports grapes, peaches, kiwis, apples and cherries to China, recently relaunched the Requinoa Fruit Central, located south of the capital Santiago, which uses the latest technology to process fruit, according to the report.

Chilean Agriculture Minister Antonio Walker stressed the importance of packaging and standarisation: a crate of fruit will look like a box of chocolates. “No matter where you are, when you open it, you find the same thing. You achieve that through technology.”

Highly sensitive photoelectric cell technology available at the relaunched plant can be used to sort out fruit. “This kind of investment is purely good news for the country, for the government and for the fruit industry,” according to Walker, who added that Chile's success in China is the result of years of reputation building among consumers. “It took us 50 years to achieve that and we need to maintain it,” he pointed out.

Chilean cherry and cranberry exports have been “exceptional” this year thanks to Chinese demand, according to a report by the Chilean Foreign Ministry's department of international economic relations.

Natalia Huang, purchasing manager of a Chinese company, Nanjing Green Sea Fruit Co., agreed that “the Chinese know a lot about Chile.” Nanjing Green Sea Fruit Co. has been importing fruit from Chile for the past three years, said Huang, adding that its partner, David del Curto, invests in technology and agricultural innovations “to stay competitive in the Chinese market, which changes rapidly.”