Through a training day, the members of the Coovicen cooperative, from Quillón, learned about the main aspects to consider with the aim of carrying out their first direct export of bulk wine, the main aspiration of the winegrowers in the short term, given the context of low prices paid in the national market. The first training was led by the academic from the School of Administration and Business of the U. de Concepción (EAN UdeC), Campus Chillán, Paulina Ceballos Garrido; and the second was dictated by Aníbal Lagos Moraga, head of the Export Department of the Rafael Flores C. y Cia. Ltda Customs Agency.
The activity is part of the “Technology transfer program for the production of wine and special vinifications of varieties available in the Itata Valley”, executed by the University of Concepción, and which aims to improve the competitiveness and marketing of Coovicen, a cooperative created in 2015 and made up of 60 partners. The program is led by the Department of Agroindustries of the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering, with the participation of the Faculty of Agronomy, and is financed by the Regional Government of Ñuble.
Paulina Ceballos presented the results of the study “Market prospecting for the Coovicen cooperative”, placing emphasis on new consumer trends worldwide, such as the growing preference for white wines, for wines with low alcohol content and in smaller, easier-to-use formats. transport.
Professor Ceballos pointed out that 2023 “was a very bad year for Chilean wine exports,” in which a decrease in demand for red wine was observed in the United States, which is one of the main global consumers. In that sense, she warned that “Chile is not reading the market well and where the trends are going,” and stated that, “we must seek to grow in the white wine market.”
The professional also identified the main destination markets to prospect and recommended focusing efforts on the United Kingdom, the United States and Mexico, countries that she selected considering three criteria: demand, distance and prices. She highlighted the good prices paid for Chilean bulk wine in the United Kingdom and the United States, which reached averages of US$1.23 and US$0.97 per liter, respectively.
He also indicated that, in the United States, half of consumption corresponds to white wines, with a preference for organic wines and with low levels of alcohol; He stated that, in Mexico, the demand for white wine is experiencing sustained growth; and that, in the United Kingdom – the main buyer of Chilean bulk wine – there is a growing tendency to prefer those with low alcohol content. He added that reducing the chemical load in wine production and obtaining organic production certifications are key challenges.
For his part, Aníbal Lagos, in a dynamic dialogue with the attendees, described the legal, commercial and logistical aspects to be taken into account when exporting, for example, the costs involved, the sales modalities and the sales clauses agreed with the importer, logistics, permits and certifications and customs and financial procedures, which differ depending on the destination. In that sense, he answered numerous queries and recommended producers hire the services of a customs agent.
Expectations
The Coovicen partners valued the day and were optimistic about the first steps towards export.
Amparo Guíñez Riffo, advisor to the cooperative, highlighted the great usefulness of the prospecting study for the members’ objectives. “The academic was able to clearly define the markets that are most accessible to us and contain very relevant information for us, to know how to export in a better way, since we do not have the experience of exporting; We have only participated in the Amsterdam fair, where the wines we brought were very popular,” she said.
Precisely, in November 2023, representatives of Coovicen traveled to the Netherlands to participate as exhibitors in the “World Bulk Wine Exhibition”, the most important bulk wine fair in the world, a tour that also included a trade mission to Denmark, thanks to a ProChile project executed with support from the Regional Government of Ñuble.
Guíñez stated that there are several products with which the cooperative can compete, such as white wines, sparkling wines, sweet wines and low-alcohol wines. “The cooperative will always have a large production of whites, because the commune of Quillón is a producer of white grapes, which represents more than 80% of the total, with varieties such as Moscatel de Alejandría, Chasselas (Corinto) and Torontel. So, there is a very big potential that can be exploited.”
The advisor highlighted the quality of the talks and particularly the clarity in the delivery of information, as well as the willingness to answer questions from members.
For his part, the director of the program, Dr. Juan Cañumir Veas, who is also director of the Department of Agroindustries of the Faculty of Agricultural Engineering UdeC, emphasized “the quality of the training, of a very good level. They were very helpful, in the case of Professor Ceballos’s study, there is work done especially for the cooperative, and the members were able to corroborate that the experience they had in Amsterdam coincided with what she proposed; On the other hand, Aníbal Lagos gave them guidance on how to export, so that they take precautions and do it well.”
Dr. Cañumir contextualized that the program has included other actions, such as the acquisition and implementation of 18 new tanks, in the first quarter of 2023, which allowed the storage capacity to be increased from 1.5 million to 2.7 million liters. Likewise, training activities have been carried out and special vinifications have been developed, such as, for example, some sweet wines with low alcohol content.
The academic announced that they will continue with more training that the two professionals will have specifically with the Coovicen board, “where they will be able to delve into these topics, for example, to be able to determine the sales price considering the export costs and according to the different sales modalities.” . Likewise, Dr. Cañumir pointed out the importance of participating in fairs, particularly in the United States, Europe and Mexico.
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