The Chilean walnut industry is going to start 2017 with a new major milestone. The Chilean Walnut Commission (ChWC), an association that groups the walnut export industry, and ChileNut, predominantly made up of the producers of the nut, have decided to work on a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) that will allow them to face the main challenges of the walnut industry.One of the main objectives entrusted to Karl Samsing and Álvaro Jiménez, both chairmen of their respective trade associations (ChWC and ChileNut), is to standardize criteria between both associations and join forces to tackle the main challenges experienced by the walnut sector. Once a long-standing desire in the industry, now both groups have reached a historic Joint Operating Agreement.All of the above mainly means that both associations will be joining forces in a JOA, organized through a council that brings together both trade groups in order to coordinate this common effort. This new organization will be created by integrating all of the exporters from both associations into a single board, allowing for a much better coordination of market strategies, information and promotional activities. A second board will be made up of all the individual growers and agriculture companies associated to exporters in order to cluster Chile’s major walnut production.This is a first step, which in the future should lead to one single voice. As a whole, this JOA now represents 90% of Chile’s walnut producers and 80% of the exporters.