Minister of Agriculture highlights progress in exports and plant health during visit to China

A meeting with China’s Vice Minister of Customs was part of an official visit that included representatives of the Chilean agriculture industry and government. For the meat sector, the main goal was negotiating the reopening of the Chinese market for poultry.

During a four-day official visit to China, the Chilean Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela, led a series of key meetings in Beijing and Shanghai aimed at strengthening bilateral trade.

He was joined by a delegation including Juan Carlos Domínguez, President of ChileCarne; Miguel Canala-Echeverría, General Manager of Frutas de Chile; Gabriel Layseca, International Director of the Office of Agricultural Research and Policies, ODEPA; Mauricio Hurtado, Chile’s Ambassador to China; Gonzalo Figueroa, Chilean Consul in Shanghai; and Llacolén Lefever, Chile’s Agricultural Attaché. Minister Valenzuela highlighted the progress made in exports and plant health, key aspects in the growth of Chilean agri-food trade in Asia.

In Beijing, the minister met with China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC) to discuss priority issues such as the protocol for importing fresh fruit from third countries and the ratification of Chile’s status as free of Avian influenza.

For the third time in less than a year, ChileCarne joined the Minister of Agriculture in a work meeting with China’s Vice Minister of Customs, Wang Lingjun. “One of the topics discussed with Chinese officials was our request for reopening the market for Chilean poultry. Until March 2023, China was the third-largest destination market for Chilean chicken and turkey. Due to the Avian influenza outbreak in Chile that month, exports to China were suspended. Chile regained its free of Avian influenza status in August 2023 and since then we have been working with Chinese authorities to obtain the reopening,” Domínguez explained.

During the visit, Chinese authorities also confirmed their willingness to move forward with the signing of a new agreement to improve the entry conditions for Chilean pork, as well as expanding the catalogue of Chilean products entering the Chinese market. The progress was highlighted by Minister Valenzuela, who underscored the importance of reopening the poultry market and ensuring that pork by-products can also reach Chinese families’ dinner tables.

The official mission also included a meeting with China’s Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Han Jun, to sign the renewal of the agreement for the Chilean demonstration farm in China, which will run until 2027. The agreement, described as a milestone in agricultural cooperation between the two countries, also lays the foundations for installing a similar farm in Chile, focused on innovative feeding systems using AI and sustainable practices.

The Chilean delegation also held meetings with representatives from China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Customs, both in Beijing and Shanghai, to discuss trade facilitation issues and the adoption of new customs technologies. In Shanghai, the focus was on the actions implemented to facilitate the entry of Chilean products such as cherries using a new “Smart Customs” platform.

The visit concluded with a tour of the Longyou East Anasac (LEA) plant, a Chilean-Chinese joint venture dedicated to the formulation of plant health products. The plant, located in the Zhejiang province, is essential for supplying Latin American farmers with high-quality products and reflects Chile’s commitment to sustainable agricultural development.