A look at Chilean Exports

Published on 25 January 2018

Chile is one of the countries in Latin America that has best developed its agro-industrial and fishing offer for export. In fact, during the decade of the '90s, and the first ten years of the 21st century, many Chilean specialists and investors expanded their knowledge in other latitudes, especially in the cases of grapes, avocados and cranberries.

Currently, Chile continues to be consolidated as one of the main exporters of fruits, timber and fishery products in the world and, to a large extent, has been able to cushion the slowdown in its economy with shipments of these products. Next, we highlight those that have experienced greater growth in terms of value in the last 12 months for which information is available.

The bulk of the growth in the export of paper is explained by the increase in the value of paper shipments of toilet paper type (+ US $ 10 million) and Kraft paper (+ US $ 3 million). In the case of paper, the main export destination was Argentina, with US $ 45 million, followed by Mexico (US $ 38 million), Peru (US $ 36 million), Ecuador (US $ 19 million) and the United States (US $ 17 million). ), in all cases, for the period November 2016 - October 2017. The external market is supplied by large exporters, each of which can generate revenues of between US $ 20 million and US $ 30 million for exports.

Regarding the mussel, Chile has developed its offer in the last decade to serve markets with limitations to meet its demand with local production, such as Spain (which it exported for a value of US $ 19 million in the period November 2016 - October 2017), Italy and France and the Netherlands (each of which was sent for US $ 251,000, US $ 227,000 and US $ 149,000, respectively). In this way, the country of the lonely star has become the main exporter of this product in the world.

In the case of tangerines, the main market is the United States, where shipments were made for a value of US $ 78 million in the period November 2016 - October 2017, followed by the United Kingdom (US $ 4 million), Canada (US $ 2.8 million) ) and Bolivia (US $ 1.3 million). The export of this citrus is made by companies that handle medium volumes, which generate income for values that do not exceed US $ 8 million.

Avocado exports benefited from two factors: the rise in prices (as of September 2017, they registered a rise of 125% in the United States) and the development of the Chinese market, for which sanitary authorization was achieved in 2014 The main destinations in the period November 2016 - October 2017 were Holland (US $ 107 million), United States (US $ 105 million), United Kingdom (US $ 48 million), China (US $ 42 million) and Argentina (US $ 34 million). In this case, the companies have sent higher value shipments, reaching US $ 20 million, US $ 30 million, and up to US $ 80 million over the period.

Chile is also an important producer of fertilizers. Exports of ammonium nitrate increased considerably in the period November 2016 - October 2017: shipments to the Netherlands (US $ 96 million), Spain (US $ 86 million) and the United States (US $ 51 million), its three main destinations, grew 47% , 53% and 34%, respectively.

The rise in exports of salmon and trout, the largest in terms of value, is explained by a cut in supply due to the algae boom, and the rise in prices, also driven by a cut in supply in Europe, caused by the affectation of the white louse to the hatcheries. The main destinations in the period November 2016 - October 2017 were the United States (US $ 1,560 million), Japan (US $ 838 million), Brazil (US $ 603 million), Russia (US $ 285 million) and China (US $ 184 million). At the company level, the values are quite high: only the fifth that exported the most generated revenues of US $ 278 million, while the one with the largest presence received US $ 424 million.

For the pear, the main growth was due to the increase in exports to Russia, which increased its value from US $ 7.3 million to US $ 16.3 million if we compare the two twelve-month periods analyzed (November - October). Another destination that has grown in demand is Germany, with a rise from US $ 4.8 million to US $ 7.6 million. The main destinations are Holland and Colombia, with US $ 20 million each, followed by the United States (US $ 17 million), Italy (US $ 11.9 million) and Peru (US $ 11.5 million), in all cases, for the period November 2016 - October 2017. For this case, the exporters also made medium shipments: the company with the highest sales received revenues of US $ 20 million, and the fifth with the highest presence generated US $ 5.7 million.

Lastly, pulp and sawnwood increased in value due to the strength of Chinese demand, which captures 35% of exports (US $ 1,634 million between November 2016 and October 2017). The other relevant destinations are the United States (US $ 763 million), Japan (US $ 365 million), South Korea (US $ 336 million) and Mexico (US $ 182 million), in all cases, for the same period. This is also a category of large exporters: the shipments of the largest movement generated an income of US $ 1,573 million, while the fifth largest exporter received US $ 186 million.

In general terms, the Chilean offer has good opportunities in different markets. The best options are observed in China (raw materials, fruit trees and hydrobiological products), Europe (fruit trees and hydrobiological resources), the United States (raw materials, fruit trees and hydrobiological products). The Chilean export economy is clearly based on natural products, and despite having been driven by a pioneer industry in the modern agro-export of the region, it is making its way into new markets, as with the avocado in China and the pear in Russia.

There are good opportunities for new exporters to venture into traditional markets or, above all, new ones, to introduce these products. Of course, do not forget to work hand in hand with a trader with successful experiences in the destination.

For more information on export and import statistics from around the world, you can visit our website and try our free demo.

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