Once again, the weather is putting the country's fresh fruit sector to the test. This weekend, from the Valparaíso region to Los Lagos, there was rainfall, and in some cases even hail, as happened in Rancagua.
In this regard, the presidents of the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile AG (Asoex), Iván Marambio, and of the Federation of Fruit Producers of Chile (Fedefruta), Jorge Valenzuela, indicated that the damages recorded so far are limited.
"Although it is still early to provide more detailed data, according to information from our technical teams on the ground, and also from our cherry, blueberry and table grape committees, so far the damage caused by rain, and in some cases hail, would be limited by region, commune, locality and plantation.", said the president of Asoex. «For example, the effects vary between producers in the same area. We find plantations that have suffered damage and neighbouring ones that have not. This adverse weather situation adds to the challenges that the sector is facing this season, such as the case of logistics hubs.»
For his part, the Fedefruta leader commented that the union he represents has consulted producers about the effects of this front. In the central zone, between the Metropolitan and Maule regions, one in five fruit growers had some degree of complications, and despite the fact that half of those who have observed damage to their crops suffered hail, preliminary estimates of damage to the affected orchards do not exceed 10% of the early harvests.
"That doesn't mean that other producers won't have bigger losses," Valenzuela says, "because this type of spring rain and hail is treacherous and falls in a very unpredictable way in an area, sparing many, but being cruel to others. In addition, these rains will determine the agronomic management of the crops from December onwards, as the 70% of the producers pointed out to us."
In this regard, Ivan Marambio added that, “These rains will imply higher costs, especially for small and medium producers, who will have to carry out applications and management to prevent the fruit from being affected in its condition and quality for export. In a few days we will have more details regarding possible changes in the estimates for exports of blueberries, cherries and table grapes.”
Precipitation
According to the report prepared by the Foundation for Fruit Development (FDF), between Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 November, in the Valparaíso and Metropolitan regions, rainfall did not exceed 4 mm; with the highest records in Los Andes (3.2 mm) and in the Metropolitan Region, Pirque (3.8 mm), Buin (3.2 mm) and Paine (3.1 mm).
Further south, the situation was different, with rainfall exceeding 10 mm in the O'Higgins region. This was the case in Codegua (16.1 mm) and La Estrella del Norte (11.6 mm). The same situation occurred in the Maule region, where San Javier reported rainfall of 10.8 mm, Yerbas Buenas 11.6 mm, Linares 11.4 mm and Longaví 14.2 mm.
The FDF report highlights the special situation of Parral in the Maule region, which received 19.6 mm. Meanwhile, in the Ñuble region, San Nicolás recorded 35.1 mm of rainfall. Meanwhile, Bío Bío recorded the highest rainfall in Antuco (28.6 mm) and Los Ángeles (26 mm).
Finally, FDF information states that in the Araucanía region, rainfall reached 20.6 mm in Loncoche, followed by Collipulli (13.6 mm) and Cunco (15.4 mm). In Los Ríos, Paillaco it exceeded 19 mm and La Unión reached 16.2 mm.
