Chile: Food Service - Hotel Restaurant Institutional
Chile offers excellent opportunities for U.S. food exports in the Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Food Service (HRI) sector. The World Bank ranks Chile’s economy as a high-income economy. Chile is considered South America’s most stable and prosperous nation in Latin America and the Caribbean. The World Bank predicts Chile’s GDP will grow by 4 percent in 2018 thanks to improving private-sector prospects, rising copper prices and increasing consumers’ confidence. In 2017, U.S. exports of consumer-oriented products to Chile reached $676 million (MM). Largest categories were beer, poultry, pork, beef, dairy products, condiments and sauces. Chile’s foodservice sector is expected to grow due to the increase of travel, tourism and retail outlets/channels. According to Euromonitor data, the growth of the foodservice sector was 4.6 percent in 2017 (value in constant prices) and for the period from 2016 to 2022, an increase of 25.3 percent is expected. The best prospects for U.S. food products resides in supplying high-end hotels and restaurants (casual dining and family-style restaurants) along with coffee shops and fast food restaurant chains.