Fruit industry escapes Chilean earthquake
Fruit industry escapes Chilean earthquake
A 7.7 earthquake that struck northern Chile Nov. 14 is expected to have no effect on the country's fruit exports.
Tom Tjerandsen, managing director of the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association in Sonoma, CA, told The Produce News a couple of hours after the quake that it was "in the far north in the dry desert area." He contacted the trade in Santiago and Valparaiso after the quake "and no one felt anything," he said. "It won't have any impact on the food exports heading north from Chile."
Mark Greenberg, senior vice president of procurement for Fisher Capespan in Montreal, said shortly after the earthquake that he had spoken with one supplier. "The earthquake was big, but it was more in the north of Chile near Antofagasta and Iquique, which are areas closer to the Peruvian border. It is not clear what the toll in human life has been. It is not as big as what happened in Peru earlier in this year. It will impact the mining industry. I would expect there will be material damage and a loss of human life. The damage will not have an impact on the fruit industry." It was felt in the fruit- production area of Copiapo, "but not at a level that created a loss of life or material damage."
Preliminary reports from the Associated Press indicated that a major earthquake rocked a large area of northern Chile, toppling power lines and closing roads. There were no immediate reports of injuries from the quake. The AP report quoted witnesses who said the quake was felt in Santiago [780 miles away] as well as neighboring Peru and Bolivia. The earthquake center was 25 miles east-southeast of Tocopilla and occurred about 37.3 miles underground.
Ricardo Lagos Weber, Chile's presidential spokesperson, said that the geological event was centered in the Andean village of Quillahua near Calama, site of the large Chuquicamata copper mine.
Tom Tjerandsen, managing director of the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association in Sonoma, CA, told The Produce News a couple of hours after the quake that it was "in the far north in the dry desert area." He contacted the trade in Santiago and Valparaiso after the quake "and no one felt anything," he said. "It won't have any impact on the food exports heading north from Chile."
Mark Greenberg, senior vice president of procurement for Fisher Capespan in Montreal, said shortly after the earthquake that he had spoken with one supplier. "The earthquake was big, but it was more in the north of Chile near Antofagasta and Iquique, which are areas closer to the Peruvian border. It is not clear what the toll in human life has been. It is not as big as what happened in Peru earlier in this year. It will impact the mining industry. I would expect there will be material damage and a loss of human life. The damage will not have an impact on the fruit industry." It was felt in the fruit- production area of Copiapo, "but not at a level that created a loss of life or material damage."
Preliminary reports from the Associated Press indicated that a major earthquake rocked a large area of northern Chile, toppling power lines and closing roads. There were no immediate reports of injuries from the quake. The AP report quoted witnesses who said the quake was felt in Santiago [780 miles away] as well as neighboring Peru and Bolivia. The earthquake center was 25 miles east-southeast of Tocopilla and occurred about 37.3 miles underground.
Ricardo Lagos Weber, Chile's presidential spokesperson, said that the geological event was centered in the Andean village of Quillahua near Calama, site of the large Chuquicamata copper mine.
