b'APRIL 5 - 18, 2021LATIN AMERICAN TRADE BI-ANNUAL 17(RESILIENTcontinuedlogistics partners, are sophis-from page 16) ticated,withstate-of-theart increasedawhopping54%cold-chainandpackaging in volume, according to sta- technologydevelopedover tistics culled by iQonsulting,thepasttwodecades.And, whichhasjustreleaseditsBamber added, they have a annualsurveyofthecherrygood product to start with. trade in South America. FinalThegovernmentswill dollar figures arent yet avail- pull out the stops to support able, but as of the end of Feb- these industries because they ruary,FOBtotalsstoodataresocriticaltoeconomic $1.85 billion, already a $300wellbeing.Chile,forexam-millionincreaseover2019- ple,treatsthisagricultureChile dominates the Latin American region in fruit production of cherries, blueberries and grapes.2020turnover,whichitselfas an essential industry. The was about $250 million moreauthorities moved quickly tosuch as cherries and blueber- value-addedfruitssuchasQuality control, from pick-than2018-2019.(Turnoverdigital certification. ries are gaining acreage at atablegrapesaremovinging and processing to packing hasincreasedthreetimesrapid clip. For example, someupthevaluechain,withanand climate-controlled transport, over the past five years.) F ReShF RuitSB igB uSineSS Chileananalystsbelievetheemphasisonpriciervariet- becomes much more important.FromthefieldtotheFreshfruitexportshaveacreage devoted to cherries inies.WehavebeenseeingAccording to a UN study packinghouse to the port andbecomebigbusinessforChile will increase by aboutthis shift towards quality, notin 2018, Latin American fruits then to the final destination,many Latin American coun- athirdinthenextseveralonly in fruit species, but alsoand vegetables exports tipped inayearofthepandemic,tries.Theseincreasinglyyears,withanemphasisoninvarieties,saidSalinas.$30billionin2017.Mexico withlockdownsandalltheextend beyond the traditionalpremium varieties.Wehaveseenthisshiftinstillheadsthefield,with menace from COVID, I thinktropicalplantationcropsTheplantingrate[ofblueberriesandsweetcher- abouthalfthetotal,butthe itsabsolutelyremarkable,ofbananasandpineapples,newcherrytrees]isvery,ries,themostrepresentativerestoftheregioniscoming said Salinas. Im impressed,whicharestillconsideredvery fast, and the number ofexamples of high-value fruits,on strong, and, in some crops, but also pleased at how it allcommodities, with extremelyplants sold every year is mas- but also in the most commonlike cherries, blueberries and went, having to bear a 54%low margins and bulk carriersive, said Salinas. ones, which are table grapes,(RESILIENTcontinued increase in the production. shipping.Value-addedfruitsEventraditionallylessapples and also kiwifruit. on page 18)F Ruite xPoRtSR eSPonSeThe minimal damage from both crises and the aggressive responsetothemhavebeen mirroredacrosstheregion initshandlingoffreshpro-duceexports,whichinLatin America outside of Mexico are largely fruits, during the pan- We Ship Everythingdemic. This demonstrates just howvitalfruitshavebecome asanexportcenter,notjust to Chile, but for several other countries across Latin America. That importance is matched byasteadilygrowingtradeYour trusted partner andoperationscompetence. Localproducers,shippers, theportsandlogisticsspe- for worldwide air cargo logisticscialistsallrespondedadmi-rablytoCOVID-19related stressesbecausetheyhave thenecessaryexperienceto weather such stresses.This is professional com-mercial agriculture operatingat a very high level, and at that level,youcanseetheeffi-ciencyandthestrongbusi-ness-oriented approach to the agriculture kicking in with this crisis, said Penny Bamber, an internationaltradespecialist General Cargowith a focus on global value chains. She is based in San-Oversized Materialstiago, Chile. These are very sophisticated companies.Temperature ControlledIt may have been a rocky start,butmostfruitexport Pharmaceuticalsoperations recovered quickly, manyinamatterofafew Hazardous Materials weeks.JustasAmericas food supply chain held strong High Value Goods throughout the pandemic, so, too, did this export trade. Live AnimalsIt was a short-lived shock on this side of the world, said Bamber. They were much less affected than other producing+305.407.3125 [email protected] in the world.There are several reasons why: Many of the exporters areverticallyintegratedandwww.amerijet.comownthefarmsandpacking plantsaswell.Theyhave strongcommercialnetworks thatarehighlydiversified geographically. Their person-nelareexperienced.Their operations, and those of their'