A special ceremony to mark Chile’s cherry blossom celebration marked the start of the 2021/22 cherry blossom season.
Chinese Ambassador to Chile, Niu Qingbao attended the event held at Garces Fruit Processing Facilities, in San Francisco de Mostazal, along with representatives of the industry and Chilean Agriculture Minister, Maria Emilia Undurraga.
A guided tour through orchards and packings was conducted by Hernán Garcés, the company’s president. A briefing was given by him on what the company does to meet quality and safety protocols demanded by export markets and the latest technologies employed by the sector.
Chile was keen to highlight the additional safety protocols it has put in place for its 2020/21 campaign following the disruption to the 2020/21 campaign due to unproven claims that Covid was found in consignments of Chilean cherries arriving in China.
Horacio Bórquez, director of Chile’s Sanitary Agency (SAG), said: “We have no doubt that, with the new protocol agreed with the Chinese authorities, the risks of any incident this season are much lower.
“SAG, together with the industry, has been working on these protocols, including extensive training, so that together we can assure that the health attributes of our fruit are as good or even better than before.”
The sector’s preparations for the new season have been praised by Niu, who stated: “Work has been done in coordination with Chinese authorities, through remote inspection of viruses and other issues, so there should be no technical obstacles in these matters, so we hope that this season’s shipments of Chilean cherries will be very successful”.
Niu emphasized the cultural and commercial ties between the two countries, saying: “At this moment there is a coincidence between what happens in Chile with the cherry blossom celebration and in China where we are beginning Mid-autumn festival celebrations, which, is not a mere coincidence, but rather a natural connection that unites both countries.
The Ambassador said all Chinese believed that Chile is a friendly country and “the point is that consumers seek to buy products from friendly countries”.
According to Ronald Bown, President of Asoex: “For us, this celebration has been an important experience, not only because of how the Chinese authorities have welcomed us, but also because the Chinese people recognise in our fruit a quality, healthy, safe, and tasty product that are produced with the care that consumers deserve”.
According to Bow, this season cherry producers will be launching a major promotional campaign to increase access to different regions and cities in China.
For the betterment of the rural sector and the country, Undurraga stressed the importance of fruit growing in Chile as well as its ties with China.
“Agriculture, and particularly fruit growing, is a generator of development for Chile and many regions in the country.
“Being able to promote an activity like this one is an opportunity to highlight the role that China has for our products, in this case Chilean cherries, which are available at a very special time of the year, but also contribute to the health of the Chinese population.”
According to Garces, Chile and China have a “special magic,” adding: “We have produced, as an industry, a cherry that due to its taste and quality has conquered Chinese consumers. In addition, its great colour is a symbol of success.
“We have developed a modern industry, with the latest technology and incredible logistics to provide the best fruits to consumers.”
President of the Chilean Cherry Committee, Cristian Tagle, also emphasized the efforts of the sector to ensure quality and safety for consumers.
“Chilean producers are increasingly aware and concerned about producing good quality, controlling shipments and learning lessons from previous seasons, so I am optimistic that the quality will be very good, which is positive news for the markets and end consumers,” he added.
