The 2023-2024 Chilean cherry season is practically over and the results are classified as “positive” by the sector's protagonists. “Overall we can say that this was a good season, because on the one hand there was a good reception of our cherries by consumers, which allowed the fruit to rotate well, even though in the first part exports showed a decrease in volumes due to the spring rains,” commented Claudia Soler, executive director of the Chilean Fruit Cherry Committee.
He added: “On the other hand, the condition and quality of our fruit was good, because our exporters know the importance of quality for the sustainable development of the industry in the future, and for this reason, in the early varieties, which were more affected by the rains in spring, but did not suffer damage, air shipments were preferred, thus ensuring the condition of the fruit. The mid and late season had good volume and quality.”
Regarding exported volumes, the agricultural engineer indicated: “To date we have shipped 413,979 tons to different markets around the world, a figure very similar to last season (-0.31 TP3T lower). However, it is important to note that with regard to our shipments to China (including HK), our main destination, exports show a new record, with shipments 3.31 TP3T higher than the previous season, amounting to 377 thousand tons,” Soler pointed out.
In terms of markets, the Far East received 388,062 tonnes of Chilean cherries, with an increase of 1.51 TP3T compared to the previous year. Next in line is the USA with 13,977 tonnes (-141 TP3T East Coast and -521 TP3T West Coast), followed by Latin America with 7,296 tonnes (-201 TP3T), Europe with 3,850 tonnes (-171 TP3T), Canada with 685 tonnes (-361 TP3T) and the Middle East with 109 tonnes (-611 TP3T).
The top 10 cherry varieties shipped were: Lapins with 431 TP3T of the total exported volume, Santina (211 TP3T), Regina (191 TP3T), Sweet Heart and Bing with 41 TP3T respectively. Also notable are Kordia (31 TP3T), Skeena (21 TP3T), Royal Dawn, Rainer with 11 TP3T, among others. It should be noted that the Chilean industry ships more than 36 varieties of cherries to the world. Some of these are new early varieties such as Meda Rex, Sweet Aryana or Royal Lynn, among others, which are still produced in low volumes, not exceeding 80 tons exported.
The committee representative also noted that, as regards the type of shipments, “There was an increase in air exports, especially to China, with the receipt of almost 15 thousand tons and an increase of 4.41 TP3T compared to the previous year. While sea shipments to different markets around the world totaled 386,209 tons, reflecting a decrease of 0.221 TP3T, land shipments, especially to Latin American markets, totaled 5,588 tons, reflecting a decrease of 3.51 TP3T.”
For his part, Ivan Marambio, president of Frutas de Chile, said: “Without a doubt, this cherry season has once again shown that the Chilean fruit industry is capable of facing challenges, because despite some setbacks such as the lack of cold weather in winter and the spring rains, we were able to send quality fruit.”
He added: “The cherry is Chile’s calling card in China and other Asian markets. There is a special synergy that has been created between the Chinese New Year and the Chilean cherry in terms of being a symbol (due to its color and shape) to wish good wishes and fortune. Likewise, the FTA and the good relations between Chile and China have allowed the cherry industry to grow over time. In the last 7 years we have grown, on average, 29% per year in volume. An example of this is that 9 seasons ago or approximately 10 years ago, our shipments of cherries to China reached a little more than 39,000 tons (2015-2016), and today they exceed 376 thousand.”
Highlights of this Season
Among the highlights of this season, Claudia Soler noted the coordination with logistics actors in China that allowed Cherry Express ships to arrive at the Port of Tianjing for the first time. “This was a key aspect in order to reach the entire northern area of China directly, mainly all of Beijing and its surroundings. In addition, this port is very close to the Gaobeidian Wholesale Market, which is currently one of the largest wholesale markets for premium fruit in northern China, which represents enormous potential for our cherries, especially because there is interest in developing the category,” he assured.
And also in terms of logistics, the first ship with cherries that arrived in India in a record time of 36 days and a single stopover stood out. "which makes us optimistic about the development we can have in this market, especially considering that we are entering it with zero tariffs."
The executive director of the Chilean Fruit Cherry Committee also highlighted the promotion developed, which, “Unlike previous years, this season a three-year strategy was developed that will be a kind of roadmap to deal with the increases in production and exports expected in the future. This plan involves much more precise work on our target segment and how we are going to work in the different cities in terms of their degree of maturity, especially in China, which is our main destination market. The growth we expect in the future and the degree of development of the markets force us to be much more demanding in terms of the return required for the different activities.”
Finally, as a challenge, Soler commented that we must not lose sight of the fact that “China is a dynamic market with significant growth potential, which requires us to be constantly alert to the changes in this market, as well as to deepen its development by stimulating greater consumption in regional cities and enchanting the segment of young people who have a lower consumption of cherries.. Likewise, the Chinese consumer demands the best quality and forces us to constantly strive to reach the market with the best product, therefore, we must continue to focus on exporting quality," hill.
