The first ever container of Chinese pears are arriving in Chile, offering new varieties of the pome fruit to consumers in the South American country. 

Representatives from the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX) met with officials from the Chinese Embassy to finalize the actions that will be taken to help promote the fruit to Chilean consumers.

ASOEX president Ronald Bown said that these efforts form part of the reciprocity agreement between the two countries.

"In this framework of reciprocity, the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association, in conjunction with the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG), will support the first import of Chinese pears into Chile," he said in a release.

"This support will relate to two containers, the first of which is already in our country, and the second will arrive in the first week of December."

Promotions and tastings will be carried out at various retailers around the capital Santiago from mid-December until around mid-January next year, according to ASOEX.

"There are three varieties of high-quality pears, which are not found in Chile," he said.

Bown also said that as part of the reciprocity agreement, access is being negotiated for Chilean pears into China. He noted that negotiations were going well.

Figures from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that Chinese pear production during the 2017-18 season is expected to end up at 19 million metric tons (MT).

The main varieties planted are Snow, Ya, Huangguan, Fengshui, Fragrant, Fengshui, and Nanguo, with the majority of production harvested between August and October.

According to figures from ASOEX, during the 2016-17 season Chile exported more than 231,000 metric tons (MT) of fresh fruit to China, with key commodities including table grapes (41% of total fresh fruit exports to the market), cherries (24%), plums (12%), apples (8%), kiwifruit (8%), avocados (5%) and blueberries (3%).

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