Following up on last month's South American trade mission, Gov. Tom Corbett on Tuesday welcomed a group of officials from Chile to the Port of Philadelphia.
Chilean agriculture minister Luis Mayol Bouchon on Tuesday led a delegation of senior agricultural officials who joined Corbett at a news conference before port officials showed them around.
Philadelphia's port is already a top destination for Chilean fruit, but there's room to expand imports from Chile and other South American countries, Corbett said. Administration officials said the port has ample refrigeration space for storing perishable products.
Measured in U.S dollars, Philadelphia ranked fifth among the nation's ports receiving goods from Chile in 2012 and Pennsylvania imported $577 million worth of Chilean products, the governor's office said.
"We are excited to host the Chilean delegation in Pennsylvania and for them to see firsthand the vast business opportunities associated with the state's Delaware River access to the Atlantic," Corbett said. "Continuing to strengthen free trade between Pennsylvania and Chile will result in new economic and job-creating opportunities for both regions."
Corbett led a delegation of administration officials, business people, tourism representatives and university leaders on a 10-day trade mission to Brazil and Chile last month.
