This innovative seminar held in Quincho Zapallar, Curicó, brought together fruit industry leaders to explore the challenges and opportunities in the cultivation of these two emblematic fruit trees. The event offered valuable analysis and perspectives on sustainable practices and advances in the sector.
Cherry & Kiwi Conference, organized jointly by Abud & Cía. and Centro de Innovación Montefrutal (CIM), brought together prominent leaders and experts from the fruit industry to discuss the future of these two crops. With the participation of more than 300 attendees, 26 sponsors and five collaborators, the event stood out for its comprehensive approach to commercial and technical aspects.
The event offered an exhaustive analysis of the market and sustainable practices for the management of cherries and kiwis, addressing economic, social and environmental aspects. The trade bloc highlighted the experience of industry leaders, who spoke about the challenges, opportunities and threats facing these two fruit trees.
Among the attendees were the Undersecretary of Agriculture, Ignacia Fernández, the Seremi of the Maule Region, Claudia Ramos, and relevant authorities from the agricultural sector, including Iván Marambio, president of Frutas de Chile; Carolina Dosal, president of FruSéptima; Carlos Cruzat, president of the Kiwi Committee; Claudia Soler, general secretary of the Cherry Committee; Carolina Torres, Director of Amagro; and Laureano Goycoa, president of the Chamber of Kiwi Producers of Mar del Plata, Argentina.
In the commercial block we have great industry representatives, with vast experience and trajectory, both speakers and panelists, who gave us an overview of the challenges, opportunities and threats in these two emblematic fruit trees.
The experts who participated in this block were Claudia Soler, Executive Director of the Cherry Committee; Orieta Ramírez, General Manager of Exportadora Frusan; Iván Marambio, President of Frutas de Chile; Claudio Vial, General Manager of Exportadora Rancagua (Ranco Cherries); Carlos Cruzat, President of the Kiwi Committee; and Camilo Alvarado, Representative of Dalian Yidu Group.
After his presentation, Ivan Marambio assured that, «As Frutas de Chile, it is very important to participate in this type of event, as we can share the work we carry out to promote the development and growth of the sector, as well as analyze those positive and challenging aspects that call us to work together. This work has led us to positive results this 2023-2024 season, in which, from January to June, we have grown in exported volumes by around 6% and in value by 15%».
The seminar continued with the technical section on cherries, with presentations by Walter Masman, Technical Advisor and Specialist Consultant on Cherries and Stone Fruits, Christian Abud, Executive Director of Abud & Cía., and Óscar Carrasco, Professor of Fruit Growing at the University of Chile and fruit advisor, specialist in pome and stone fruits. Masman addressed the new varieties of cherries and Christian Abud delved into how the productive equation for this season is coming (high productive potential) and how to properly address inclement weather, since this year's season is very different from the previous one and offers different challenges.
For his part, Christian Abud, organizer of the Cherry & Kiwi Conference and exhibitor of the technical block of cherries, explained that, “The industry highly valued the seminar’s approach, the quality of the presentations and the complementarity offered by producing kiwi and cherries in the same field. We are proud of the work of our Montefrutal Innovation Center (CIM), led by Dr. Luis Ahumada, which allows us to conduct high-impact applied research in orchards and disseminate it to the fruit industry.”
Abud's CEO added that, “Over the years we have shown that it is imperative to address sustainability, as it allows for improved profitability of orchards.”
The seminar concluded with the technical block on kiwi, in which Matías Vallo, technical director of Ikiwi Argentina, participated; Gianfranco Marcone, meteorologist for Channel 13; Raimundo Cuevas, Technical Manager of Abud & Cía. and Laureano Goycoa, President of the Chamber of Kiwi Producers of Mar del Plata.
For his part, Matías Vallo commented that, “the invitation was very good, to be able to come, to be able to feed ourselves a little from the experience they have here in Chile and also to be able to tell them what we are doing with kiwi, it was very good to participate in the panel of experts, there we were able to share a little of our experience and the vision we have on kiwi also in Argentina, we are in a rebirth in kiwi and we have laid a foundation to be able to feed ourselves from the experience of both Chile and Argentina.”
Regarding the event, Christian Abud stated that, “This event became an invaluable platform for sharing knowledge and strategies that can be directly applied to the production of cherries and kiwis.”
The Cherry & Kiwi Conference 2024 stood out for its ability to bring together two important fruit trees, showcasing their complementarity and offering a valuable exchange of knowledge, meeting the expectations of the more than 300 participants.
