Challenges of the Export Industry: Chile’s Fresh Fruit Success Story
Friday, October 28, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
Gerri C. LeBow Hall
3220 Market Street
Rm. 406
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Philadelphia’s final Chile Week USA program, Challenges of the Export Industry: Chile’s Fresh Fruit Success Story, hosted by the Chilean and American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia (CACC) and Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, was held on Friday, October 28th, following the CACC’s 19th Annual Friend of Chile Awards Luncheon. Guests gathered in Gerri C. Lebow Hall on Drexel’s campus for an in-depth conversation with Chilean trade expert Ronald Bown F., Chairman of the Board of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX).
Mr. Frank Linnehan, Ph.D, Dean of the LeBow College of Business, began the seminar by warmly welcoming CACC Members and guests to Drexel University before Bown took the podium. The comprehensive talk, moderated by Honorary Consul of Chile in Philadelphia, Benjamin Leavenworth, brought to light the incredible success of the Chilean fresh fruit export industry, as well as some of the hurdles they have yet to overcome and strategic goals for the future. Bown included an array of stimulating facts regarding Chilean trade initiatives in his presentation. For example, he explained that Chilean fresh fruit exports have increased more than 25 times in the last 36 years with more than 17,000 fruit importers around the world receiving Chilean fruit, and that North America was Chile’s number one market with 32 per cent of the export total. The expertise required to handle the fresh and “live” produce is not an easy feat but through innovation and collaboration with foreign networks there has been a mutual success for Chilean exporters and international importers. Bown also described a few goals for the future of Chile’s fresh fruit export industry, a list which includes securing long-term sustainability through the development and defense of the markets.
At the conclusion of the presentation there was a brief Q & A discussion with students and audience members. Leavenworth then ended the program with a special thank you to the speaker and special guests and the event’s co-sponsor, Drexel’s LeBow College of Business. Following the seminar, guests gathered for a spread of various appetizers and Chilean wine.