Chile: No growth prospects without rising exports

In spite of finding herself in a tight spot, the Chilean printing industry has for years continued to invest in its machinery assets to the tune of 24 million euros on the average—notwithstanding the fact that the advertising and printing industry has been in a free fall for most of the recent three years. The number of employees has also held steady at roughly 15,800 over that period. Chilean printing businesses are focusing primarily on the domestic market, a mere seven percent of production is destined for export, mostly to neighboring countries in the region.

Total production value reached 1,226 million euros in 2010, with label and packaging print making up 57 percent; magazines, books and ad material, 33 percent; and the remaining 10 percent going toward digital Print (including super-sized formats) (Source: Chilean Association).

The country of 16 million has 3,144 print and media businesses, 98.4% of them small and medium-sized. 1.6% are large-sized companies. But in Chile, as elsewhere, the Association cites an ‘oversaturated market’, expecting smaller shops to fold rather than any surge in the formation of new businesses.  The rush to mergers and a combination of business operations is as evident as anywhere.
Chile is a Latin American country with a thriving internet traffic for communication, with all strata of society being avid participants in the new social media craze. And just like in Western industrial states, the new information channels are of deep concern to the newspaper and publishing industry. On top of their overcapacities, Chileans are hamstrung by the comparatively modest size of their market and long distances to other developed markets. The rapid increase in production costs and currency fluctuations relative to the US dollar and Euro are creating further headaches for Chilean printers. To the question of “next year’s drupa—what does the trade show mean for Printers worldwide and press houses in Chile specifically?”, the Chilean Association (Asociación Gremial de Industriales Gráficos de Chile) answers with: “A visit to drupa will enable us to present our associates a new vision and prepre us for impending developments on a global scale”.