“Climate Estimation 2024” and “Understanding the Chinese Consumer” were the two presentations that gave life to the first “Cherry Conference”, an event organized by Agrocover, Blossom exporter and Trío Riego, which took place at the Villa El Descanso hotel in Curicó. The first of the talks was given by Yun Tso Lee, doctor in political sciences, academic at the Universidad del Desarrollo and advisor to the Chilean Cherry Fruit Committee.
«The talk was aimed at all producers to understand a little of the history and culture of China. We always sell cherries from here (Chile) to the Chinese, but we don't know what the Chinese are like, so I think that through this talk we illustrated a little of how the Chinese think, what is the worldview they have and how they think, because if we want to continue doing business with the Chinese it is better to get to know them. The Chinese prefer to do business with friends rather than with strangers, so it is good to continue strengthening this bond of friendship and this mutual understanding.», the academic noted.
Next, Patricio González, an agroclimatologist from the University of Talca, gave a complete climate estimate for the year 2024.
«There is a topic that is worrying farmers a lot, which is climate change, climatic extremes; we have had an El Niño event in 2023-2024, which caused heavy torrential rains, many flooded fields, broken gates, intakes, etc., and, in addition, we have a change in the middle of the year, which is the La Niña phenomenon, which could bring late frosts in spring; this worries farmers, especially cherry growers, because late spring rains generate partitioning, late frosts can also cause damage, which is why at this time the talk focused precisely on a current analysis of the climate issue in the Maule region and on making a projection for the spring 2024, summer 2025 season, with heat waves that are also extreme, causing water and thermal stress,» explained the agroclimatologist.
The event brought together more than 60 attendees, who praised and expressed their gratitude for the opportunity offered by “Cherry Conference 2024”.
«The talk by the Chinese academic was very important, especially so that we Chileans can understand something about Chinese culture, about how Chinese consumers react to the product we are sending today, which today are mainly cherries; and the talk by Professor Patricio González about the weather is very relevant, because last year the weather played a trick on us, so we are trying to use all the predictive models to see how to face this season in a better way.», said Felipe Henriquez, Chile Business Director GrandFruit.
A large group of cherry producers participated in the event and valued the information presented by the exhibitors.
«It is always good to have a vision of the market where we send our fruit, even more so if someone comes who is originally from that country and it is good to understand the culture, because sometimes many things do not fit, you do not understand well how the cherry provokes such a fervent sale, they pay such high prices and it is interesting to know a little history, it is also good to recap», commented Javier Rodríguez of the South Pacific Agricultural Company.
Finally, the event organizers made a positive assessment of the first “Cherry Conference” and expressed their gratitude for the event.
«The initiative came from Blossom, which invited Trío Riego, Smartcherry and Agrocover as partner companies, in order to fully integrate the chain, from the establishment of the orchard to the final consumer, obviously passing through the production area; the exhibitors were people related to cherry production, and then the topic of exportation», concluded José Pablo Donoso, general manager of Agrocover.
The organizers of the Cherry Conference have already confirmed the 2025 edition of the event, which will also include technical exhibitions, in response to the requirements of those who participated in this important event this year.
