Frutas de Chile held the webinar titled "Advantages and Benefits of Hong Kong as a Strategic Business Hub for the Chilean Fruit Sector," where the market's potential was analyzed.

The meeting was opened by Rodrigo Gallardo, secretary general of Frutas de Chile, who said that Asia has become an important destination for Chile's fresh fruit exports, “therefore, some exporting companies are probably thinking about how they can expand their international presence. Some of our partners have set up commercial offices in Asia”.

Gallardo added that the role of the trade association and as representatives of the Chilean fruit sector is to bring options to evaluate so that the industry can explore and consequently decide based on the information.

The director of Tourism and Hospitality at Invest Hong Kong, Sindy Wong, explained, “We have a lot of consumers and mouths to feed, as we have a population of 7.5 million.”

She commented that Hong Kong has a strategic location in Asia. “In logistical terms, in four hours you can reach all of the continent's major markets.”

Wong emphasized that “we have good connections in logistics, air, and sea shipments since we have a world-class infrastructure.”

Business hub

One of the highlights of Wong's presentation covered the benefits of developing businesses in Hong Kong.

“In Hong Kong, we are famous for the ease of operations to set up companies. There are more than 9,000 companies and businesses headquartered here fulfilling strategic functions, sales, and research and development,” Wong said. 

Another benefit is that the ports are tariff-free, “especially fruit is tariff-free, so it is easy to send products to Hong Kong.”

In addition, she pointed out that “in Hong Kong, we welcome all foreign start-up companies. Traditionally in Hong Kong we are strong in logistics, and our big business area is focused on finance, professional services, and logistics”.

Another of the qualities that the market has, is simple taxation, “in the companies we have only a tariff system, a corporate rate. When you have profits in Hong Kong you pay 16.5% in taxes. And on the first 2 million Hong Kong dollars, you only pay half of that, which is 8.25%.”

During the analysis, Wong also explained that “what is most expensive here in Hong Kong is rent and labor."

Fruits

Focusing on fruit, Wong stated that the main imported fruit is cherries, many of which come from South America. In second place are oranges, and in third place are exotic fruits such as durian.

One of the particularities for fruits is that Hong Kong is a tariff-free port, “so the fruit can enter easily and can also be exported to other destinations in Asia. So we export 58% of the fruit, most of it goes to China and neighboring cities.”

Opportunities

At the end of the presentation, Wong explained the opportunities for the fruit industry, indicating that total fruit consumption continues to rise, as people eat more fruits and vegetables.

In Hong Kong, 1,575 tons of fruit are consumed daily,” Wong concluded.