XSur, whose Commercial Manager is Patricio Toro, began operations in 2010. They currently export cherries, plums and kiwi, showing significant growth this season compared to the previous one, close to 15 percent, equivalent to 1,150,000 boxes (approximately 312 containers).
Our team of correspondents in China spoke with them about various topics related to the current cherry campaign and their trip to the Asian country:
When did you arrive in China and what was the COVID-19 protocol?
«We arrived in Guangzhou on the 7th, directly from Amsterdam. The Covid-19 issue was a huge mess. They put us on a bus and took us far away. Once we arrived, they made us sign papers and go into a 20-hour quarantine at the hotel where we were staying.».
What was the most interesting part of this business trip to China?
«It has been interesting to be able to see the arrival of the fruit. Many times one thinks that the fruit arrives exactly as we pack it in Chile, and the truth is that here you can see when there are errors at the origin, the pitting, the cracks, the bruises, everything comes in two, it is much more noticeable at the destination. The same with the importance of the way of palletizing, the order, and even the material of the boxes. The trip is too long.«.
What varieties were arrived and marketed during the week?
«This week (week 3) we had arrivals to the markets of Guangzhou, Shanghai and the port of Dalian. We received some varieties of Lapins, Kordia, Sweetheart and Regina, most of them sold… some left for after the new year.«.
What is your general perception of the quality of cherries observed for the industry?
«In general, good, there are always details that can be improved, varieties that have their season, but I think that without a doubt the most affected in terms of quality were the early ones (Santina and Royal Dawn), since these were the varieties that were rained on before harvest, therefore there was a higher incidence of splitting and rot, the rest were fine.. The Regina, which in previous years had been very complicated, has so far been doing well, nothing like the reports from previous years... and this is partly due to the fact that logistics have been impeccable, without major complications at the origin, Chinese customs are expedited, and as producers and exporters we have been more concerned, entering to harvest a little earlier, looking for new alternatives in post-harvest so that it arrives well, but the fact of having an expeditious entry has been the main thing for the good arrival of the Reginas.«.
How has the season been for you and what are you looking forward to post-CNY?
«So far so good, we have almost reached the 92% destination, this year we left quite early, XSUR was the first company to arrive with cherries by sea to China (MAERSK SVENDBORG), post CNY we hope that sales will continue as they were pre-CNY, which saw a lot of activity in the Guangzhou market, we hope that Reginas and Sweetheart, which suffered quite a bit last year, will hold up well and that we can conclude a successful season."
What important things have you been able to see on the ground?
«For both of us, this is the first time we have come to China to deal with cherries, and everything is new. In general terms, wholesale markets everywhere work relatively the same, but what is impressive is the volume and speed with which the Guangzhou market moves, something we had never seen or imagined. Another important item was logistics. We went north to the city of Dalian, where one of our receivers has an important operation. We witnessed the first arrival of cherries in containers directly from Chile to the port of Dalian (GSL TINOS). There are cold storage facilities both in the port of Dalian and in Shenyang, which is an important city, the capital of the province of Liaoning.«.
«I'll tell you a little bit about this: this receiver has giant refrigerators and a major logistics company, which allows it to receive fruit in containers as well as in a chambered vessel, to store the fruit and distribute it to different cities. This year we sent fruit in several of these chambered vessels, we were impressed by how it operates».
«In more specific terms, it has been interesting to see the advances in terms of automation of packaging processes, both in palletizing and sealing, how flowpacks arrive and how they are perceived by buyers. We believe that innovation in the production chain is very important, the implementation of these new technologies, we await the results and that, logically, they work.", concluded Juan Pablo Grez, Head of Operations and Logistics at XSur, and Javier Rodríguez, XSur Agronomist Producer.
