08/10/2024
China reopens the market for Chilean
The General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China announced the reopening of the Chilean poultry meat market. This milestone puts an end to the suspension that took place in March 2023, after the first outbreak of this Highly Pathogenic Virus (HPAI) was confirmed in Chile.
Prior to this emergency, China represented a key market for Chilean exports of poultry products. Between January 2022 and March 2023, more than 34,300 tons of poultry products were exported, which positioned China as the third most important destination, representing 15% of the total shipments of the sector. This was highlighted by the Minister (s) of Agriculture, Ignacia Fernández, who made the announcement of the opening of the market, together with the Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza, the national director of the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG), José Guajardo Reyes, the national deputy director of the Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies (Odepa), Daniela Acuña and the president of ChileCarne, Juan Carlos Domínguez.
“We are announcing excellent news for exporters, who will be able to market poultry products again in a key market. The closure of this market represented a loss, both for the production of the sector, and for us as a Government, by encouraging economic activity and activation in the different production markets. With this action, Chile is again recognized as a reliable partner in terms of trade and, therefore, the lifting of these restrictions opens the opportunity for new conversations on bilateral and commercial relations,” stressed the Minister (s) of Agriculture, Ignacia Fernández.
The Chilean exporting establishments that will be able to resume poultry exports to China include Agroindustrial Arica, Sopraval, Faenadora Lo Miranda, Faenadora San Vicente and Agroindustrial El Paico.
In this context, the president of ChileCarne, Juan Carlos Domínguez, said that “this is excellent news for the poultry meat producing sector, since China is, in fact, the third destination market for our exports. We have been working together for twenty months between the public and private sectors to achieve this reopening and we must highlight the effort and willingness of the authorities, especially the Ministry of Agriculture and the Undersecretariat of International Economic Relations, who maintained a fluid dialogue with the authorities in China. Exports are what allow us to have competitive sectors and, in our case, they are the engine for continuing to develop.”
The main products exported between January 2022 and March 2023 were by-products such as neck, legs, claws, rump, skin and frozen cut meat with bone. These products are in high demand in China, where they are valued at a higher level than in other markets. In terms of value, exports in 2022 totalled 107,498,559 dollars, which underlines the strategic hierarchy of the Chinese market, one of the most important in the world, for the national poultry industry.