Chile opens market for Brazilian Tahiti Lemon

 

Chile opens market for Brazilian Tahiti Lemon

2022 started well for Brazilian Tahiti lime producers, as Chile has just opened the market for importing the fruit. The Brazilian Association of Producers and Exporters of Fruits and Derivatives (ABRAFRUTAS) together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) were successful in the negotiations in a short space of time, since normally the process is always time consuming.

The international director of Abrafrutas, Luiz Eduardo Rafaelli, evaluates the Chilean market as promising on two points. In 2021, Chile imported about 5 million dollars in lemons and the expectation is to reach 50% of this market. Another point is that exports to this country will reduce Brazil's dependence on the European market.

Positioning itself in the market will be one of the challenges to be faced, according to the director, as Brazil will have to offer a quality lemon at a more affordable cost to remain competitive with others, such as Peru, which already exports at lower costs than refers to logistics.

“IT IS A SMALL MARKET, BUT INTERESTING, STRONG AND STRONG. WE BELIEVE THAT WE WILL HAVE CHALLENGES, BUT IT WILL BE GOOD AND INTERESTING FOR THE SECTOR”, SAID RAFAELLI.

Rafaelli says that opening up the Chilean market for Brazilian lemons is an old topic, but in a conversation with other directors of the Association, the matter was taken up and discussed with Mapa in 2019, which quickly took the necessary measures to open it. He highlights the strength and good representation of the Association that was at the forefront of this and other market opening processes.

According to data from the Center for Advanced Studies in Applied Economics at the Luiz de Queiroz Higher School of Agriculture of the University of São Paulo (Cepea-Esalq/USP), Tahiti lime represents 98% of Brazilian shipments of citrus fruits abroad, which is the third in the Brazilian fruit export agenda.

“STARTING THE YEAR WITH THIS NEWS IS VERY GRATIFYING FOR US AT ABRAFRUTAS, THE RESULT OF A GOOD WORK DONE. BRAZIL IS HAVING A GOOD TIME IN THE FRUIT EXPORT MARKET, SO WE ARE VERY HAPPY. FROM HERE ON, WE HAVE A LOT TO CELEBRATE, WITHOUT FORGETTING TO STRENGTHEN OUR WORK EVEN MORE, OPENING OTHER NEW MARKETS AND OFFERING QUALITY FRUITS. IN ADDITION, WE WILL CONTINUE TO GENERATE MORE JOBS, WHICH FAVORS THE COUNTRY'S DEVELOPMENT”, SAID GUILHERME COELHO, PRESIDENT OF THE ASSOCIATION.

At the end of 2022, representatives of Abrafrutas together with lemon producers were in Chile to learn about the particularities of the local market, as well as export requirements, quality requirements, logistics, etc.

The trade mission was part of the actions carried out by Abrafrutas, through the Frutas do Brasil Project, in partnership with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil) in the search for new markets and expansion of the existing ones, with the objective of reduce dependence on exports to places such as the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, which currently hold about 85% of the total fruit exported by Brazil.

THE BRAZILIAN FRUIT SECTOR PROJECT

ABRAFRUTAS, in partnership with Apex-Brasil, develops a project to support Brazilian exporters in the search for business expansion; opening of new markets; recognition and differentiation of Brazilian fruits; increase in the healthy habit of consuming tasty and superior quality fruits.

Started in 2014, the Frutas do Brasil project aims to show that Brazil is a supplier of sweet and tasty fruits.

ABOUT ABRAFRUTAS

The Brazilian Association of Producers Exporters of Fruits and Derivatives (Abrafrutas) is a non-profit association whose purpose is to represent and promote Brazilian fruit production in the international market.

Created in 2014, Abrafrutas has approximately 70 fruit exporting producer members and holds approximately 85% of the total volume of fresh fruit exported by Brazil.

In partnership with the Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (Apex-Brasil), ABRAFRUTAS developed, in 2014, the “Frutas do Brasil” project. The project aims to show that Brazil is a supplier of sweet and tasty fruits all year round. The sun and the climate of Brazil allow the consistency of production and great variety of fruits from north to south of the country.

Its purpose is to support Brazilian exporters in the search for business expansion; create opportunities for opening new markets; promote the recognition and differentiation of Brazilian fruits and encourage an increase in fruit consumption.

Source: Abrafrutas