Despite the difficulties presented by the recent season, our country continues to lead the ranking of producers and exporters of the red fruit.
According to figures provided in the recently published “International Cherry Market Yearbook 2022” by IQonsulting, Chile represents 95.7 percent of the export supply of the southern hemisphere. In the recent season, our country produced 445,500 tons of this fruit, of which it exported 356,442 tons, equivalent to 71.3 million 5-kilo boxes.
The Southern Hemisphere exported 372,337 tons of cherries as a whole; of these, Chile represents 95.7 percent, followed by Argentina with 8,173 tons in the 2021-22 campaign, then Australia with 3,975, New Zealand with 3,220 and, finally, South Africa with 624 tons.
The main market for Chilean cherries remains China, although with a slight decrease compared to 2020-21. In the current season, 313,961 (88,1% of the total) tons were sent to China and Hong Kong, compared to 322,188 tons in the previous campaign.
Other important markets were North America and Europe. 13,877 tonnes of cherries were exported to the former (12,741 to the USA and 1,135 to Canada), while 6,254 tonnes were exported to the latter (England 3,317, Holland 1,801, Spain 694 and 441 tonnes to other countries).
Future of Chilean cherries
Although the recent season presented various labor problems, virus control and a complex logistical scenario that delayed shipments and customs clearance, in addition to low prices after the celebration of the Chinese New Year in the main market for Chilean cherries, the scenario for this red fruit remains optimistic.
Specialists assure that Chile will maintain its growth, with a production that could even double the current production and export in the next 5 years, reaching 830,000 tons, equivalent to 166 million 5-kilo boxes, in the 2026/27 season. This considering that to date cherry plantations in our country reach 62,000 hectares. (IQonsulting and Asoex Cherry Committee).
Although this last figure is well above the official numbers provided by Odepa (just over 48,000), it must be taken into account that these are updated every 4 years, so we will have to wait for the publication of the results of the last fruit census carried out last year.
Asoex is clear that it is time to diversify markets and this was made known at the beginning of last season and in the marketing campaigns carried out, for example, in the United States. This was reflected in the figures provided in the “International Cherry Market Yearbook 2022” by IQonsulting, which shows a slight decrease in shipments to China and an increase to the United States and Europe compared to the 2020-21 campaign. This initiative should gain even more strength for the 2022-23 season, considering that the Chinese New Year will be celebrated several days earlier than this year (January 22) and that cherries that arrive after this date will be penalized in their prices.
