35% of the fruits exported by the southern hemisphere are citrus fruits, making these the most important species for exporters in those countries. Of the total volume, 41% corresponds to oranges, 26% to lemons, 23% to mandarins and 10% to others.
Chile is the second largest citrus supplier in the southern hemisphere, with a 10% share, behind South Africa, which accounts for 63%, and ahead of Argentina, with 9%.
"The citrus industry accounts for 13% of all Chilean fruit shipments to the world, with exports averaging around 400,000 tons. Although our main market is the United States, Japan is also a very important destination in the specific case of lemons," said Monserrat Valenzuela, manager of the Chilean Citrus Committee.
Workshop
This season's promotion plan included a workshop where the main importers, distributors and buyers of Chilean lemons were invited. The activities were led by Monserrat Valenzuela, manager of the Citrus Committee; Charif Christian Carvajal, Asoex marketing director for the Asian and European markets, and Nury Disegni, Chile's agricultural attaché in Japan.
During the workshop, Charif Carvajal gave a presentation in which he highlighted the export potential of Chile's citrus industry, as well as the promotional tools that the Chilean sector uses to help importers promote consumption and the movement of goods, addressing issues related to export statistics, production regions, availability and sustainability of the industry.
Market visit
They also carried out a tour of supermarkets and of the Ota wholesale market in Tokyo (Japan's main regional market) to give a boost to the promotional activities among importers and distributors and identify growth possibilities. "The objective was to take a look on site at how the reception of goods is handled, as well as at the sales and display formats, in order to identify elements that could be improved or enhanced," said the ASOEX marketing director.
"Japan is a highly important market for Chile. So far this season, Chile has exported 39,200 tons of lemons, out of which 22,000 have gone to the U.S., and 11,000 to Japan," said the manager of the Committee.
For more information:
ASOEX
www.asoex.cl