Chilean national authorities described the announcement of the opening of the Vietnam market for domestic cherries as good news. This agreement, reached between the Ministry of Agriculture of Chile and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, allows imports of cherries and grapefruits and helps advance the strategy of the Ministry of Agriculture to expand the portfolio in times of COVID19.

The Minister of Agriculture, Antonio Walker highlighted the opening of the important Vietnam market for Chile and said that “we must continue to open new markets for Chilean products, it is very important that we continue to expand our borders and thus be able to be increasingly competitive in the markets. international. This opening in Vietnam is part of the strategy we are implementing to expand the portfolio of our markets in case there are problems in any of our destinations due to the pandemic ”.

“Furthermore, these negotiations that we have carried out in conjunction with the private sector allow us to continue increasing our presence in the world. We believe that Southeast Asia is very important to us, since in that region there are close to 600 million people willing to purchase Chilean products and Vietnam is one of its most relevant markets for us, ”Walker added.

For his part, the Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, Rodrigo Yañez, revealed the commercial opening of more and more national products. “The cherry opening comes at a good time for the start of the export season and the celebration of Vietnam's lunar new year. This is great news, since greater trade openness and market diversification help a small economy like Chile to continue to grow in a global context of uncertainty. This opening is part of the Government's health diplomacy strategy that, thanks to joint work, will improve access to health products in international markets, diversifying destinations and promoting resilient foreign trade, ”he said.

The National Director of the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG), Horacio Bórquez, said he was very satisfied with the news, since “this is the result of the work carried out in conjunction with the phytosanitary authority of Vietnam, a country where we even visited a one year with the head of the Agricultural and Forest Protection Division, which resulted in the opening of Chilean cherries to the Vietnamese market for the 2020 season. The commitment and seriousness of the producer-exporter sector allow us to achieve these achievements; that is why we will continue working as SAG in order to continue reaping successes like this one, which ultimately benefit a very important sector of the national economy ”.

From the private sector, the president of the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile (ASOEX), Ronald Bown, also highlighted the opening and pointed out that "this is very good news, especially because it means having a new market for exports of cherries, especially considering that it is a sector whose volumes are increasing. At the end of October the harvests will begin, therefore, this opening comes at a very good time. We are defining, together with the Cherry Committee of ASOEX and ProChile, to implement actions of promotion that allow us to support the entry of this fruit to the market ".

"During last season, Chile exported 228,586 tons of cherries. Of this amount, around 90% was destined for China, so diversifying our exports within Asia, as is the case of Vietnam, is relevant, since, in addition, It is a market with a large consumption of imported fruits, especially of high quality, such as our cherries, "Bown closed.

The director of the Office of Agrarian Studies and Policies (PASO), María Emilia Undurraga highlighted that “this agreement is the result of coordinated work between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has allowed us to advance in different openings sanitary services during this year, even though the world situation has been complex, we have managed to expand opportunities for Chilean producers, which in turn has a relevant impact on regional employment and the well-being of families in the regions where they live " .

It should be noted that, within the framework of Chile's trade opening process, in the middle of last August, the first shipment of Chilean apples arrived in Vietnam. In this regard, the Chilean Ambassador to Vietnam, Jaime Chomalí expressed his hope to continue paving the way "so that all our Vietnamese friends have the opportunity to taste the best products that Chile has to deliver."