China Focus: Acclaimed Chilean produce exported to Chinese tables

With no direct air routes, a Chinese must endure at least a 25 hour journey, making a stopover in America or Canada, to reach Chile.

Good things are Chinese consumers now can eat fresh cherries of the Latin American country, that may have still been on the tree barely 30 hours ago, thanks to direct flights reserved for the flourishing import and export of goods between the two countries.

A total of 90 chartered flights, all reserved for fruits, will be operating between Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province, and Chile, from Nov. 6 and the end of December. The imported fruits, topping 10,000 tonnes, will be distributed from Zhengzhou to other places in China.

Chilean fresh food, such as cherries, blueberries and salmon have become a mainstay of trade between Chile and China in recent years.

Over 98 percent of blueberry imports in China come from Chile, and Chilean cherries accounted for 76.9 percent of such imports in China.

"Fresh fruits, salmon and king crab are the most popular Chilean produce in China," said Wu Yuanfeng, president of China Chile Central, which sells Chilean food in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone.

"The cycle of seasons in Chile and China are exactly opposite; cherries harvested in Chile are perfect for the strong demand during China's Spring Festival," Wu said.

Pictures of Chilean cherries are put on prominent display at most Chinese e-commerce sites that deliver such produce. In the 2016 export season, 100,000 tonnes of Chilean cherries are expected to be sold to China.

A consumer in Shanghai can buy a good bottle of red wine from Chile for only 200 yuan (about 29 U.S. dollars).

"Chile has become the second largest wine exporter to Shanghai this year," said Li Chunxi, manager of an international trading company in Shanghai.

Aside from Shanghai, Chile is actually China's second largest source of wine imports, with bottled wine imports increasing 46 percent from a year ago.

Demand for Chilean food in China is still on the rise. China Chile Central opened its first branch in central China's Hunan Province this month, and there are plans to open more branches in inland areas.

While Chilean produce is enjoying growing popularity in China, quality Chinese products are also popular with Chilean consumers. Chinese-made cars have taken up a considerable share of the Chilean auto market, and China Chile Central are aiding photovoltaic enterprises in east China's Jiangsu Province to explore the Chilean market.

China and Chile have agreed to start negotiations on upgrading their current Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which was the first free trade agreement between China and Latin American countries.

Bilateral trade has rocketed four-fold since the FTA came into force in 2006. China is now Chile's largest trading partner.

"As China becomes the world's second largest economy, Chile hopes to attract more Chinese investment, especially in areas such as infrastructure, energy and agriculture," Wu said. Endi