The Fruit Exporters Association of Chile (ASOEX) has been conducting an important "Mission to Asia" since last week, which includes visits to China, India, and Japan markets. They have also announced their next visit will take place in September to be part of the International Fruit Expo and Asia Fruit Logistica.

The first stop of this trade visit was China, where ASOEX met with agencies and teams in China to define the strategy for promoting Chilean cherries over the next three years, with a special focus on the upcoming season of fresh cherry exports. This is particularly important considering the increasing volumes, and thus it is crucial to enhance their consumption. According to the Ciren Survey, a production of 812,717 tons is projected for the 2026-2027 season, with exports exceeding 682,682 tons.

“We have analyzed the lessons learned from previous campaigns, as well as defined the strategies needed to achieve greater positioning of our cherries among consumers in China, South Korea, and Thailand,” said Ivan Marambio, president of ASOEX. The executive added that the ASOEX team is working to implement the new “Fruits from Chile” strategy in the mentioned Asian markets, with the aim of positioning the brand among consumers and international trade.

Large Distribution Chains and Markets

Ivan Marambio explained: “We have met with representatives from JD.com, one of the world’s leading chains and one of the top three in China. They have 600 million buyers through e-commerce. They have incredible numbers and facilities. The headquarters we visited covers 1.5 million square meters and houses 50,000 employees out of a total of 550,000 workers. I must say that what has impressed me the most is that they have allocated 30,000 workers to support customers who have already made a purchase, seeking to solve any problems they may have. That’s the spectacular aspect of the culture here in China, their focus on the customer.”

ASOEX also met with representatives from the wholesale market in Beijing to prepare for the upcoming season of Chilean cherries and other fruits. “It has been a very interesting visit. The magnitude of the Beijing market is impressive. To give you a reference, this market sells four times more fruit than Chile,” emphasized Ivan Marambio during the visit.

International Fruit Expo

ASOEX President took a moment to comment the up coming International Fruit Expo to be held in China this September, 1-3. “It is great for us having at the begin of September this fair in Guangzhou and after that we have the Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong. So it is a very good mix for us and for our exporters from the Chilean industry to take advantage of this, to be here with all the stakeholders. The contact in person is a tremendous way to improve the whole industry”.

“In the case of the ASOEX team we will be here in both, in Guangzhou and in Hong Kong

and I believe that our exporters are going to be here as well. You know the Chinese market is our biggest market and we need to be here. We need to be side by side with our stakeholders, with the import’s companies, consumers, authorities”, he added.

Last season restriction due to Covid were lifted after three years. “We suffered a lot in, mainly, the logistic part of the business and this last season the whole scenario changed for good. We had a very good season, and we are looking forward to the next one. We are trying to penetrate the tier second and tier three cities in China. We’re trying to develop new ways to get to the consumer. We are trying to diversify the port of entering. We are trying to understand better the way that the Chinese consumer likes the fruit, buys the fruits. So we’re trying to develop the market in a more holistic way”, finalized Marambio in China.