The Chilean stand was one of the most visited during Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong last week, and for good reason - the South American country is the leading fresh fruit exporter to the Chinese market, having surpassed Thailand last year. 

The Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX) put together a strong contingent for the regional event, and has drawn attention to the fact China (including Hong Kong) received 260,000 metric tons (MT) of fresh fruit from Chile in 2016-17.

This means roughly half of Chile's total fruit exports go to China, and out of that volume 36.6% was in table grapes, 29% in cherries, 10.9% in plums, 6.6% in kiwifruit, 5.5% in avocados, 4.5% in red apples and 3.6% in blueberries.

"Asia Fruit Logistica is the most important platform in Asia and especially China, where the global industry linked to the fruit industry gathers," said ASOEX president Ronald Bown during an opening ceremony at the Chilean stand.

"Because of that, this year we want to give our participation a different tone. We'd like to celebrate the effort and great achievement of our industry in becoming the leading provider of fresh fruit to China."

He said this showed the Chilean  how serious and committed the Chilean fresh fruit industry was when it came to high quality, safety and the flavors consumers were looking for in one of Asia's most important markets."

ASOEX marketing director for Europe and Asia, Charif Christian Carvajal added that badges highlighting Chile's number one spot in China were given to visitors to the Chilean stand.

"The meeting sector was a great success with a massive generation of contacts," he said.

"The most important importers and distributors of our fruit in Asia, particularly in China, participate in this fair, which is why we use this platform to highlight Chile as a key supplier of quality fresh fruit, and to also analyze our cherry promotion campaigns for the 2017-18 season."

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