The 3rd International Agri-Food Forum gathers over 250 businesspeople and entrepreneursPublished: June 16, 2010
US, French and Chinese-based companies -among others- looking for investment opportunities in this important sector of the Chilean economy
The 3rd International Forum "Chile: Investment Opportunities in the Agri-Food Cluster" was develop in Santiago between june 7 to 11. The event gave to the representatives from foreign companies, the opportunity to hold over 500 bilateral meetings with close to 200 Chilean companies, as well as to take part in field visits to different regions of the country.
The Forum was organized by CORFO through its Investment Promotion Program, InvestChile, and aims to attract capital and technology to boost the national agri-food sector and add value to the wine, olive, processed foods, meat, milk products and ancillary industries.
The ceremony was led by the Undersecretary of Agriculture, Álvaro Cruzat, and CORFO's Executive Vice-President CEO, Hernán Cheyre. During the inaugural seminar, presentations were made by the President of Asoex, Ronald Bown; the Chairman of Fedefruta, Antonio Walker; and the Executive Vice-President of the Foreign Investment Committee, Liliana Macchiavello. Successful examples like Santiago Querol of Laserpack and Juan José Río of Laserbox were also present. Carbon and water footprints were also addressed by Alejandro Sánchez of Green Solutions.
"We launch this forum with the hope that our foreign visitors will find in Chile a good partner, one who looks after their needs and is devoted to making their projects a reality", said CORFO's Executive Vice-President CEO, Hernán Cheyre.
Similarly, the Undersecretary of Agriculture, Álvaro Cruzat, emphasized that "Companies have to act like Leonardo da Vinci when he painted, using both hands. They have to be able to maintain their existing lines of business while they explore new lines, innovate in order to increase competitiveness, discover new processes and technologies and generate new investment options".
The representatives of foreign companies participating in the forum traveled to different regions of the country to hold bilateral meetings and conduct field visits with their Chilean peers, among other activities.
Profile of ParticipantsThe forum brings together companies from the United States, Spain, Italy, France, Denmark, Australia, China, New Zealand, Argentina, Venezuela and Germany, who together contribute an investment portfolio of close to US$40 million. These stakeholders met with Chilean counterparts from all over the country to assess investment opportunities and strategic alliances, especially in subsectors such as fruit production, olives, winemaking, milk, livestock, processed foods and the ancillary industry.
Chile's Agri-food IndustryThe food industry is one of the pillars of the Chilean production and export system, with foreign sales in 2009 of close to US$12 billion, including the salmon farming industry.
Each day, seven million people all over the world drink a glass of Chilean wine, 6.5 million drink a glass of Chilean juice, six million eat a meal with Chilean salmon and 1.6 million have canned fruit produced in Chile.
The development of the agri-food industry is based on the country's favorable soils and climate; its location at the southern tip of the Americas which allows for off-season production with respect to main consumer centers in the Northern Hemisphere; its north-south orientation, allowing for staggered harvests of high-quality products over an extended season; and natural protection against the entry of pests and diseases in the form of the Pacific Ocean, the Andes Range, the Atacama Desert and Antarctica, together with strict plant and animal health protection policies.
This is in addition to the efficient services associated with productive and commercial processes -modern processing plants, warehouses and state-of-the-art olive presses- and the abundant availability of qualified technicians and professionals, among other factors.
Download Presentations: