The Federation of Fruit Producers of Chile (Fedefruta), referred to the recent inauguration of the Chancay multipurpose mega-port in Peru, warning that Chile may lose competitiveness.

The Port of Chancay is the first port terminal with significant Chinese capital (60% in shares) built in South America with an investment of close to $3.5 billion.

The Federation called on the State as a whole, including the current public administration and the private sector, to join efforts to prevent being left behind as a country in port development, which is key for exports, including fruits.

“Fedefruta observes with concern how, while in Peru a mega-port is being inaugurated, our country has been engaged for decades in fruitless discussions on port expansion in the Valparaíso region”, he said.

In this sense, the entity that groups Chilean producers pointed out that “we must be concerned that the investments in infrastructure that have been proposed both in the Valparaíso Port Company and in San Antonio can be materialized in a short period.”

He added that “The Port of San Antonio still has many stages to complete. One of them is the environmental evaluation, a slow process, and other obstacles that, finally, and according to experts, could mean that the project will not be completed until 2032.”

He said that “port investment takes a long time and a lot of money, but we must bear in mind another important factor, the projects both in Valparaíso and especially in San Antonio, involve investments in highways and roads. Route 68 and the fruit route to the port of San Antonio must be improved, as it has high levels of congestion.”

Fruit exporters

The president of Frutas de Chile, Iván Marmbio, referred to this issue saying “We think that the Port of Chancay has to be analyzed in several dimensions, not only for its infrastructure.”

He added that Chancay puts in people's orbit how important infrastructure is, “and how important is the competition that takes place between countries and logistics.”

“We think it's very good from an infrastructure point of view and it's good news for South America,” Marambio said.

The leader of Frutas de Chile explained that the port is going to generate more movement of ships in this part of the world. “We have to worry about doing things well, to fine-tune logistics; before reaching the ports, we have to grow in the railway, we have to improve our wave height condition to operate the ports.”

Marambio was clear in saying that “today the infrastructure we have is sufficient, however in 10 years we are going to need more structures and for that, we have to advance in the processes that we are advancing today. Not as fast as we would like, but we are moving forward.”

The Port of Chancay in Peru will be a key maritime point for trade between South America and Asia, mainly China (port of Shanghai), because it will become a regional hub that will redistribute cargo from Peru, Chile, Ecuador, and Colombia.

The Public Affairs Manager of Cosco Shipping Ports, Mario de las Casas Vizquerra, explained that today it takes between 35 and 40 days to get from South America to Asia (China, Korea, or Japan), but with the port, ships will be able to do it in 23 days, since the connection will be direct.