Chile and China Seal Deal on Almond Exports

According to a news report from the Spanish-language version of China’s People’s Daily Online, an agreement allowing Chilean almonds to enter the Chinese market was signed on March 15 in the Chilean capital of Santiago. The signing took place at the presidential residence, with Chilean Minister of Agriculture Esteban Valenzuela and Vice Minister Wang Lingjun from China’s General Administration of Customs representing their respective countries. Chilean President Gabriel Boric and Minister of Foreign Affairs Alberto van Klaveren also attended the signing ceremony. The new agreement is intended to facilitate the export of Chilean in-shell almonds to China.

During the ceremony, President Boric expressed that the agreement will broaden the spectrum of products that Chile exports to China, which bodes well for Chile’s foreign trade and agricultural sectors as well as its overall economy. Last October also saw the signing of a phytosanitary protocol for the export of fresh Chilean stone fruit to China during a state visit to China by President Boric. This protocol allowed Chile to begin exporting fresh peaches and apricots to China, making Chile the first country in the world where all major categories of fresh fruit are permitted to enter the Chinese market.

According to the Chile: Tree Nuts Annual report released last October by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, Chile’s almond production for the 2023/24 season was estimated to reach 11,400 metric tons, marking an increase of 0.88% compared with the previous season. Meanwhile, exports for the 2023/24 season were forecast at 8,300 metric tons, representing a 0.6% increase, with Argentina, Ecuador and Russia as the major overseas markets.

China has now become Chile’s largest trading partner, largest source of imports, largest destination for exports and largest market for agricultural product exports. Chile reportedly exported over 574,000 metric tons of fresh fruit to China during the 2022/23 season, with over half of this volume being cherries. As of week 9 of 2024, Chile’s cherry exports to China for the 2023/24 season had totaled 377,000 metric tons.

Image: Chilean Almond Board

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article.