Chile may soon be able to export fruit to the Indonesian market, after talks were held between key representatives from the countries' agricultural sectors.

The head of the Indonesian Agricultural Quarantine Agency (IAQA) Ednang Supraman met with regional director of Chile's Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) Nicanor Cuevas in the South American country.

Talks were held at the offices of fruit exporter Copefrut in the southern VII (Maule) region.

"The potential to export fruits from Chile is very high," Cuevas said, noting Indonesia had a population of around 250 million people.

"The aim of this visit is for them to see our procedures and protocols that keep the country free of fruit fly.

"If they give us a positive evaluation, we will have the possibility to export directly to the [capital city's] Port of Jakarta, opening up an interesting market for Chile and the Maule Region, which is a major export of apples, cherries and blueberries."

Copefrut executives demonstrated the treatment processes for fruits, from the packhouse to the point where the shipment is dispatched for export.

Alejandro Cereceda of Copefrut said Indonesia was an interesting and attractive market for the company.

"There are a lot of people living in Asia, and if this option becomes available it would be huge for the company," he said.

The organization has a BRC Global Standards certificate issued by the British Retail Consortium, which is commonly used for fruit exports throughout the world and was requested by Indonesian officials.

IAQA will now submit a report to the Indonesian government, which will decide whether or not to grant market access to Chile.

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