A delegation of Chilean businessmen and officials traveled to Moscow in order to expand export opportunities from this Andean country, mainly of agricultural products and processed foods – including poultry. In 2013, Chile exported more than US$567 million worth of agricultural goods to Russia, especially salmon, trout, fruits, pork and wine.
The bilateral meeting is part of the agenda defined by the Chile-Russia Business Council of the Society for Industrial Development (SOFOFA) in its first year of activities. Juan Miguel Ovalle, president of Chile-Russia Business Council, said on this regard: "This council was formed to support bilateral economic relations at the government level, promoting trade and investment, in addition to promoting joint actions in energy issues, of information technology and communications, among other topics. Today the focus is given to food exports. Chile, due to its health and safety conditions, is a provider of top quality food, as Russian consumers have already proven."
As part of this visit, a seminar on Chile-Russia Trade and Investment Opportunities was conducted, which served to illustrate the methods of strengthening trade relations and identify business opportunities. This initiative is designed to increase trade and investment between the two countries. The president of the Russian-Chilean Business Council, Alexander Starovoytov, said: "This visit is clearly the beginning of a new stage in the development of our business relationships. We see a government that supports entrepreneurs in their efforts to increase business with the Russian Federation."
In 2013, the average annual interchange between Chile and Russia was US$706 million. In the last ten years, Chilean shipments increased an average of 31 percent per year, while imports from Russia grew at a rate of 10 percent. Among Chilean businessmen in Russia, stands out a delegation of members of the Poultry Producers Association of Chile (APA), a business entity that outlined the day's business approach in its official website.
