Two large Chilean-based fruit exporters are combining efforts to maximize sales in China.
To establish new synergies in the Chinese market, Copefrut has become a key partner with Verfrut, according to a news release.
With sales in China since 2018, Copefrut has had two operations centers and cold storage facilities in China, one in Guangzhou and the other in Shanghai, the release said.
Verfrut produces and exports more than 15 million boxes from orchards in Chile and Peru, according to the release.
“The commercial office in China was created four years ago, with the idea of marketing Copefrut fruit, reaching customers more directly, but also with the idea of inviting other leading produce partners such as Verfrut, who would amplify our categories and thus enhance our offering,” Felipe Casanova, commercial manager of Copefrut, said in the release.
Verfrut will integrate its role into Copefrut’s Chinese efforts in the coming weeks, the release said.
“At Verfrut, we have been growing for years by opening commercial platforms in North America and Europe, and China was the logical next step,” Ignacio Donoso, director of new business development at Verfrut, said in the release. “We are doing it in partnership with Copefrut due to its outstanding expertise in this market and, above all, because we have the same way of looking at the business.”
In addition, the release said both firms hope this new platform will help achieve year-round marketing of fruit in China.
“Undoubtedly, together we are going to consolidate our positions, deliver a much more attractive offering, and we will be more competitive,” Casanova said in the release.
“This alliance brings an infinity of strengths,” Romano Vercellino Martínez, commercial manager of Verfrut, said in the release. “We have a series of complementarity aspects, but also points of synergy, such as, for example, in cherries.”
Both companies are expanding cherry output, according to the release.
“With those 70 million kilos [of cherries] that we will have together, we will consolidate our position in Chile and, eventually, this will transform the commercial office into one of the largest importers in China,” Casanova said in the release.
Completing the alliance, the release said, is a third partner of Chinese origin, FullBloom International, a key player in the Asian platform. “Fullbloom’s know-how and experience has allowed us to accelerate the consolidation process there and minimize risks in a market as complex as China’s, in which communication and cultural understanding are fundamental attributes for the success of projects,” Casanova said in the release.
