Ag-Network-Chile

Zoosanity Protections in Chile

Chile enjoys a unique zoosanitary status n the continent and one of the best in the world. According to the International Office of Epizootics, Chile is free of all List A diseases. Similarly, Chile is free of avian influenza and maintains an epidemiological surveillance program to prevent this disease from entering the country.

The European Union's Scientific Committee on Food certified that bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has not been detected in Chile . It classified the country in Level 1 of BSE Risk. In other words, it is highly unlikely that any domestic cattle have been clinically or pre­ clinically infected with the BSE agent.

Exports in and Their Evolution

The strategy applied to livestock farming involves increasing production, making it less labor intensive and reaching a larger number of markets with a better assortment of products. The industry and the government make significant efforts to open up new markets. Nevertheless, the national industry's export strategy is not focused on catering to the demand for mass-produced goods which can be supplied by other countries. Chile focuses instead on providing healthy and safe products with more added value, to promote reliability and consumer confidence. In beef exports, the strategy focuses mainly on countries outside the foot-and-mouth disease circle that value the sanitary quality of Chilean products.

At present, Chile exports 129 meat products to approximately 40 markets throughout the world, amounting to US$86 million in 2000. In the last four years, the meat export industry has grown steadily, with total shipments amounting to US$253 million in 2003, thus reflecting an increase both in the volume of exports and also in the variety of products and destination markets.

Pork exports stand out since they rose from US$51.56 million in 2000 to US$150.2 million in 2003, equaling 59 percent of meat exports. The industry has thus become one of the fastest growing in agriculture in the last decade.

Asian markets are the main destination for Chilean pork exports: 81 percent in 2000 and 2003. In 2003, Mexico and Europe became the second and third destination markets, with 9.6 percent and 4.8 percent, respectively.

Similarly, poultry and mutton developed favorably in 2000 and 2003, both in export figures and yields. They rose from US$36.7 million and US$7.4 million to US$73 million and US$15.1 million in 2003, for poultry and mutton, respectively.

The poultry quota for the European Union is 7250 tons, with a 10 percent annual growth. Chicken meat processed products will become duty free as of year four. In 2003, poultry exports to Europe amounted to a total of US$40.76 million for chicken and turkey meat (US$2L2 million and US$19.5 million, respectively), equal to 60 percent and 54 percent of the total exports of chicken and turkey.

Chicken and turkey exports to Asia amounted to US$5.04 million and US$626,431, respectively, in 2003.

The Agreement with South Korea grants to chilled or frozen meat a duty free quota of 200 tons for each type of meat. Chilled and frozen chicken and turkey meat have a duty free quota of 2000 and 600 tons, respectively.

As a result of the quota of 1000 tons for beef established in the Association Agreement with Europe, that increases at an annual rate of 10 percent, beef exports began in 2003 and reached a total of US$2.06 million, with Germany as the main destination market.

Prior to the Association Agreement with the European Union, the quota for mutton was 3000 tons. However, it rose to five thousand tons under the Agreement with growth calculated at 10 percent above the 2000 additional tons. In 2003, exports of mutton to Europe amounted to US$11 million, which account for 72 percent of total exports.

Chilean pork exports concentrated mainly in the Asian market with shipments reaching US$122.6 million, equal to 81.6 percent of total pork exports. The main destinations were Japan and South Korea US$93 million and U5$29.5 million, respectively.

Under the Agreement with the European Union, chilled and frozen pork meat were granted a quota of 3500 tons with an annual increase of 10 percent. In 2003, pork meat exports to Europe amounted to US$ 7.2 million. The main markets were Italy and the United Kingdom which imported US$2.9 and USS2.5 million, respectively.

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