What is your assessment of the recent cherry campaign?
«For us and the industry, I would say that it has been a good season. The projected volumes were lower than expected. The forecasts spoke of 450,000 tons and 415,000 were exported, 81 TP3T less than expected, with an increase of 161 TP3T compared to the previous year. The truth is that in China before the season, there was talk of 470,000 tons, which undoubtedly helped to keep prices stable during the season. The first few weeks, prices were lower than expected, due to a resurgence of COVID that greatly reduced movement in the market, but it was resolved before large volumes arrived. The fruit moved quickly and the market remained quite active. Normally, when prices open very high, movement is lower, with fruit gathering together and causing a drop in prices due to excess supply and old fruit.»
What were the biggest fears or challenges of the season and what actually happened?
«The main fears were undoubtedly those related to COVID, which last year caused major logistical problems, from delays by shipping companies and speeds at customs; all of this caused the fruit to be packed together upon arrival in China, delaying its entry into the market with the consequences that we all know for cherries, fruit that are many days old and have high volumes. The shipping issue was an unknown at the beginning, but during the season we were able to load without problems, but the rates were totally out of place. COVID was not a problem this season and logistics, in general, were good; China opened its doors to foreigners just in time and allowed us to travel to be present at the arrival and sale of the fruit and, in this way, to be able to accompany our receivers in the sales».
How many tons of cherries did you export in the recent season and what were the main varieties?
«This season we exported 14,156 tons, which represents a growth of 271%3T; and the main varieties were Lapins, Santina, Regina and Sweetheart, which puts us fifth in the ranking of exporters.»
What is the challenge for the upcoming cherry season?
«We expect a large production, but agriculture never ceases to surprise us. We depend on climatic factors that we cannot control, but if everything goes well, the processing capacity would undoubtedly be one of the challenges at the industry level. As Prize, we are prepared and, for that reason, last year we made large investments in processing capacity.», concluded Prize General Manager Rodrigo Aspillaga.
