ANOTHER GREAT ADVANTAGE OF CHILE'S PECULIAR GEOGRAPHY.

From fine wines to farmed salmons, the rich variety of goods produced by Chile's food industry could soon overtake more traditional sectors like mining and forestry as the country's largest expect sector. Now the government and the private sector are joining forces to make Chile a force to be reckoned with in the world's food markets.

According to ChileAlimentos, a business organisation representing the processed foods industry, Chile's food exports totalled US$8.1 billion in 2005, more than double the country's forestry exports and similar to the value of
shipments of copper before the current boom in natural resources sent metals prices through the roof.

And while Chile's mining industry is highly concentrated -- copper represents 90% of production and half of production is based in the country's two northernmost regions -- the food industry produces a wide range of products and is spread throughout the more populated centre and south.

While fresh fruits, salmon and wines represents around 60% of food exports, other products include meats, seafood and processed foods, like juices or tinned fruit.

Agriculture is already a major part of the economy, representing over 10.3% of gross domestic product.

It is also a major source of jobs for the country, representing around 17% of the total workforce, a much greater proportion than the country's increasingly large scale and mechanised mining operations.

Chile's unique geographical and climatic conditions provide numerous advantages to the country's farmers.

The warm, dry Central Valley enjoys a Mediterranean climate, ideal from producing many of man's favourite foodstuffs including fruit and vegetables, wines, olive oil and others.

As awareness grows about the need to eat healthily, industry leaders believe consumption of these foods will rise significantly compared to other foods like meats and grain.

Located in the Southern Hemisphere, the country is able to produce fruits out-of-season to well-off consumers in the north.

This has been a crucial advantage in making in Chile one of the world's largest producers of apples and table grapes over the last thirty years.

Another great advantage is Chile's peculiar geography.

Hemmed in between the Andes mountains, the Pacific Ocean and the Atacama Desert, Chile's agriculture areas are virtually cut off from the rest of South America.

What is more, the country is free of major animal diseases such as foot and mouth.

This, together with a stricter farms inspection program, has allowed the country to win approval from the United States, the European Union and Japan to export food products where they can earn much higher prices than at home.

Low rates of natural disease also means farmers do have to use pesticides or insecticides in great quantity and making much easier to rate some Chilean products as organic, a growing trend in the West.

Lamb raised on the windy plains of Chilean Patagonia, highly rated among chefs in Europe from its delicate flavour, is almost organic per se.

And cut off from Argentina and the rest of Chile by mountains, ice fields and the stormy seas of Cape Horn, the region was classified as an island by European Union inspectors, making it win certification for export to Europe.

Based on these natural conditions, Chilean president Michelle Bachelet is optimistic that the country could double its food exports during her government, pushing Chile into the world's top ten major food exporters.

It is currently ranked seventeenth, between Argentina and New Zealand.

However, not all is rosy for Chilean farmers.

Two years of strong prices for copper, representing close to half of the country's exports, has seen the Chilean currency appreciate sharply against the dollar.

This has slashed for margins for fruit and wine producers as they struggle to compete with local producers and exports from elsewhere.
This year's wine harvest was marred by protests from grape growers hit by record low prices for their produce, with many forced to pull up vines despite the growing demand for Chilean wines around the world.

Meanwhile, major producers, such as Concha y Toro, Chile's largest winemaker, have delayed planned investments or looked to expand outside of Chile, especially in Argentina's rapidly expanding wine industry, just across the Andes.

In the longer term, Chile's farmers worry whether enough is being done to promote the country's natural qualities as a food producer to potential customers around the world.

The government's export promotion agency ProChile has begun a major campaign named "the taste of Chile".

Although Chile may lack an image as easily recognisable as Argentina's potent mix of football, tango and red meat, the government hopes to implant an image of Chile as a source of natural and tasty foods in the minds of supermarket shoppers across the globe.