Chile, Sri Lanka to expand trade

Chile, Latin America’s best performing economy, and Sri Lanka are planning to expand trade ties, the Chilean representative in Colombo said in a press release.

On Friday, the two countries announced a broadbasing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) inked earlier on bilateral trade relations.

Chile is Sri Lanka’s leading trading partner in that region. Total trade between the two countries reached US$ 40 million in 2006. Last year, Sri Lankan exports to Chile amounted to US$ 16 million, 75 per cent of which constituted tea. Chile is one of the highest per capita consumers of tea in the world.

In April this year, Sri Lanka and Chile signed a, MoU to facilitate bi-lateral agricultural trade and cooperation. Chile is keen to enhance its trade ties with Sri Lanka, and being the largest exporter of fresh fruit in the Southern hemisphere, the Latin American nation views Colombo as a potential market for its Mediterranean climate fruits.

The bi-lateral agreement for agricultural trade and cooperation was signed in Colombo this year between Chile’s Minister of State for Agriculture, Cecilia Levia, and Sri Lankan Minister of Agriculture, Maithripala Sirisena.

The Sri Lankan minister has been officially invited to visit Chile later this year to take this ongoing cooperation further. Sri Lanka could look at Chile as a springboard to reach other markets in the Latin American region.