From vines to smart farms: Chilean vice minister shows off country's produce during Seoul visit

Chile sees Korea as a key partner in its push to expand agricultural exports and modernize trade cooperation, said Chile’s vice agriculture minister during his visit to Seoul.

Chile’s Vice Minister of Agriculture Alan Espinosa-Ortiz introduces his country's wine on display at Emart's Yongsan branch in central Seoul during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on July 29. [SEO JI-EUN]

Chile sees Korea as a key partner in its push to expand agricultural exports and modernize trade cooperation, said Chile’s vice agriculture minister during his visit to Seoul.

Vice Minister Alan Espinosa-Ortiz visited a smart farm inside a subway station during his visit. He also stopped by retail chains Nonghyup and Emart, introducing his country's products that were on display.

"We are very pleased because Chile has a strong focus on working hard to promote agro-exports,” Espinosa-Ortiz said in an exclusive interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily at a cafe in Seoul on Tuesday. “Seeing Chilean products — fresh fruits, meat and wine — in such important international markets like Korea, we believe, is progress in the work we’ve been doing.”

The vice minister emphasized that Chile and Korea have complementary agricultural sectors, with Korea having technology like smart farming.

"Today, it is important to use technology to improve our production systems," he added. "We are focused on how we can produce more, with better quality, with greater health standards and food safety, using fewer water resources and ideally less land. That is a shared challenge we face together to make progress toward food sovereignty."

Chile was Korea’s first FTA partner, signing the deal in 2003, which took effect the following year. But Espinosa-Ortiz said the agreement now requires updates to reflect today’s trade realities.

"As an important point to note, Chile and Korea signed the FTA 22 years ago," he said.

"What Chile wants now is to reaffirm its strong commitment to continue building together a treaty that allows both Korea and Chile to maintain a relationship based, of course, on mutual respect," he added, "but also on trade openness — and we believe that is the great challenge. Discussing tariffs could allow us both to export products and also to import Korean products."

Chile’s Vice Minister of Agriculture Alan Espinosa-Ortiz introduces Chilean lemons on display at Emart's Yongsan branch in central Seoul during an interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily on July 29.[SEO JI-EUN]

Korea is Chile's fifth-largest destination for agri-food exports globally as of 2024, competing with Brazil, according to the Chilean Embassy in Seoul. Fruit, pork and wine are top agricultural exports, while mining — in copper and lithium — remains Chile's leading export sector.

“One of the most popular products we want to promote in Korea is pisco," he said, adding, "We are currently negotiating market access for products like Chilean fresh plums.”

Korea's Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, on the other hand, recently dispatched a veterinary pharmaceutical trade mission to Chile alongside Mexico to create new export pathways for Korean veterinary pharmaceuticals, such as antibiotics and vaccines used in livestock, pet care and aquaculture.

"What I’ve seen and read is that even though our cultures are different, today they are becoming more similar in terms of population aging," the Chilean vice agriculture minister noted, adding that this convergence is also reflected in growing similarities in pet ownership and demand for veterinary products.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]