China reopens the market for Chilean poultry exports
After overcoming the avian influenza emergency in the country and after various technical and diplomatic coordination, the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China announced the reopening of the Chilean white meat market. This milestone, which will positively impact the poultry industry and is crucial for the country's economy, puts an end to the suspension that was carried out 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 poultry product exports. Between January 2022 and March 2023, more than 34,300 tons of poultry products were exported, making China the third most important destination, representing 15% of the sector's total shipments. This was highlighted by the Acting Minister of Agriculture, Ignacia Fernández, who announced 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 Agrarian 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 once again market poultry products in a key market. The closure of this market represented a loss, both for the sector's production and for us as a Government, by encouraging economic activity and activation in the different production markets. With this action, Chile is once again recognized as a reliable partner in terms of trade and, therefore, the lifting of these restrictions opens up the opportunity for new conversations on bilateral and commercial relations", stressed the Acting Minister of Agriculture, Ignacia Fernández.
For her part, the Undersecretary of International Economic Relations, Claudia Sanhueza, emphasized the various efforts that were made to achieve the reopening, the most recent being the visit made by the authority, where the issue was addressed within the framework of the 21st meeting of the Chile-China Joint Trade and Economic Commission. "This joint work between the different State institutions and their services is also a public-private collaboration that allows Chile to advance its interests with the rest of the world. At SUBREI we are concerned not only with reducing our country's tariff barriers, but also with eliminating non-tariff, regulatory or phytosanitary barriers that often do not allow full access to our products in international markets. So we hope that this good news will also serve to redistribute the benefits of international trade to the country's regions and continue diversifying our export basket", she commented.
The reception of a Chinese technical mission to verify the measures that Chile was implementing in terms of biosecurity and a tour that the national director of SAG, José Guajardo Reyes, made through Asia in April 2024 - and which concluded with a visit to China - were also crucial to demonstrate the country's commitment to the health security of its exports. "This decision is the result of the hard work of SAG to control and eradicate avian influenza in the country. Today Chile is a country free of this disease, thanks to the joint effort of the public and private sectors, which allows us to reopen a market of great importance for our nation. This opening reflects not only the important zoosanitary status of Chile, but also the seriousness with which our institution works," said the national director of SAG.
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. The ability of these actors to re-enter the Chinese market is key to re-establishing the commercial flow and guaranteeing the continuity of the value chain of the Chilean poultry sector.
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 chopped meat with bone. These products are highly in demand in China, where they are valued at a higher level than in other markets. In terms of value, exports in 2022 totaled US$ 107,498,559 (FOB), which underlines the strategic hierarchy of the Chinese market, one of the most important in the world, for the national poultry industry.
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