Located in southwest South America and the western piedmont of the Andes Mountains, Chile is the world's most elongated country and a member of the Union of South American Nations. Argentina, Brazil and Chile are referred to as the "ABC Powers" of South America.
Spanning 38 latitudes, the country features different geographical conditions, diverse climates, rich mineral resources, forest resources and fishery resources. With the most abundant copper resources, Chile is the world's largest copper producer, known as the "Copper Kingdom"
In recent years, Chile's exports are becoming increasingly diverse, especially in the field of food export. Chile is one of the fastest growing countries of food export in the world. The country of only 17 million populations has signed 26 trade agreements with 64 countries and regions, including China, in the past few decades. It is widely acknowledged as the most stable and safe country and one of the best trade partners in South America. Chile food is perfectly safe with high quality, product traceability, international reputation and natural taste. Protected by a natural barrier, Chile is a unique, pure, and natural safety island which is free from plant diseases. Chilean food has been exported to 182 countries. Benefiting from the various free trade agreements and other trade agreements, Chilean food enjoys preferential tariff in markets with 80％ of global GDP and half of the world's population.
The consumption of Chilean agricultural products is on the rise in China market. In China’s wine market, Chile is currently ranked second only to the United States and France as the third source; in the total amount of fruit exports to China, Chile has exceeded Thailand to take the first place this year; in export of Chilean poultry to China, the number has increased from zero in 2011 to $ 0.08 billion now. With strict supervision, inspection and quarantine procedures, and good farming conditions, Chile is able to produce products to Chinese consumers’ satisfaction. The prospects for Chile food in China are very promising.
Chile has established a development strategy to become a food export power, and a new development model that gives full play to its comparative advantages so as to gradually change from mainly exporting primary agricultural products to agricultural products with high added value.
Wine
The wine industry is one of the backbones of Chilean agriculture. Chilean wine industry has had more than 450 years of history, but the large-scale development began in 1990s.
Good quality of Chilean wine is guaranteed by good geographical and climatic conditions, especially rare occurrence of plant diseases and insect pests. Even grape varieties which have disappeared in Europe are able to be developed in Chile. According to statistics by the Ministry of Agriculture, Chile has wine grape planting area of 0.1047 million hectares, among which 74.7% are for red wine varieties, and the remaining 25.3% are for white.
In 2016, Chile's wine exports to China reached $195 million. China has surpassed the United States to become Chile's largest wine importer.
Fruits
Chile’s fruit industry began in the 1960s. After decades of development, now more than 130 varieties and over 2.4 million tons of fruits and vegetables were sent to about 80 countries and regions each year. Fruit industry accounts for nearly 40% of Chile’s total agricultural output.
Chile is now the southern hemisphere's largest fruit exporter and the world’s number one exporter of grapes and plums. In 2007, exports of fruit to China accounted for less than 2% of Chile's total exports, but by the year before last, the number had risen to 25%. Cherries, grapes and plums are the top three Chilean fruits exported to China.
In 2016, Chile exported about $ 1.2 billions’ worth of fresh fruits to China, an increase of 22% over the previous year, replacing Thailand as China's largest source of fresh fruits.
Olive Oil
After several years of efforts, Chile has gained international fame as a producer of extra virgin olive oil. Geographical advantages and Mediterranean climate conditions give it enormous potential for development. Chile's Mediterranean climate is conducive to the production of food of high polyphenol. There are areas which are suitable for almost all varieties of trees. And the relative cost in Chile is still lower than that in other producing countries. Chile, as a country with developed fruit industry, is well equipped with the relevant technology and knowledge which can be applied to olive production.
In the past ten years, the export of Chilean olive oil has been rising, which is expected to reach 32 thousand hectares by 2020. The main export markets are Brazil and the United States, followed by Mexico, China, Japan, Columbia, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Russia. All of Chile's olive oil is extra virgin, while Spanish extra virgin olive oil only accounts for 15% of its total production.
Fishery Products
With 25,000 kilometers of surrounding and Peninsula coastline and 1.804 million square kilometers of marine territory, Chile has abundant marine fishery resources and superior aquaculture conditions.
Although with only 0.6％ of the world’s fleets, Chile is a big fishing country, ranking fifth in fishing capacity in the world. Since 2004, it has been the eighth largest exporter of fish products in the world, accounting for 3.5% of the total share. In recent years, Chile has become an aquaculture power with salmon as its main products (accounting for 93% of total production). Before the salmon industry crisis caused by the ISA virus, Chile was the world's second largest producer of salmon, second only to Norway. At present, Chilean salmon accounts for77% of the total salmon import of China.
