Page 2 - Asoex Sustainability Report

ASOEX
and undeniable basis required as a minimum.
Moreover, the industry has de ned a permanent and unchangeable focus on the people affected by its actions, be they consumers or agricultural workers.
Chilean Fruit Exporters’ Association.
The Industry’s Commitment with Sustainability
Approximately 300,000 ha (742,000 acres) of Chilean territory are planted with fruit trees in over 16,000 orchards and elds located in the regions going from Atacama to Los Lagos (along 1,800 km). Its fresh fruit exports amount to 2.5 million metric tons (2016), going to more than 100 countries in the ve continents.
Since year 2000, the industry has been committed to include sustainability in its management. Besides food safety, the concept is concerned with social and environmental aspects, as well as the economic viability of the agricultural business. It is precisely this what was gathered in the ChileG.A.P. Protocol, by including as its essential components four inseparable elements that de ne Sustainability for the Chilean fruit industry: Food Safety, Respect for the Environment, Corporate Social Responsibility and Economic Sustainability, the latter element being considered as the essential
Environment Care
Food Safety
The People
Corporate Social Responsability
Economically Sustainable
The industry’s commitment with sustainability is expressed in the Guide of Good Practices for the Sustainability of the Chilean Fruit Industry, available at:
http://asoex.cl/images/documents/guiasBPA/ guia_sus_eng_217.pdf
It is also manifest in a series of actions, such as, for instance, those described in this document.
CONCEPT
The de nition of sustainability adopted by the Chilean fruit industry is as follows:
Sustainable fruit growing is a speci c production system of each eld or orchard consisting of all necessary actions for a long term:
• Production maintenance and increase to meet the demand for food;
• Preservation and improvement of the natural resources in the production site;
• Most effective use of the eld or orchard resources, including natural biological cycles whenever
possible;
• Quality of life improvement for growers, workers and society, and
• Assurance of eld or orchard productivity and pro tability for a continued business providing
healthy food and creating jobs.
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