How many hectares of cherry plantations are there in Chile? This is a recurring question that until recently could not be answered based on official figures; however, the Office of Agricultural Studies and Policies, Odepa, recently published a bulletin containing updated figures up to 2022.
We ask ourselves the same question, then, and the answer is that, to date, in our country, there are a total of 61,559 hectares planted with cherries. The Maule and O'Higgins regions lead the list with an area of 27,818 and 22,966 hectares, respectively. It is worth mentioning that 10 years ago, in 2012, there were only 13,641 hectares planted with this fruit species in all of Chile.
Region by region
In the Coquimbo region, in 2012 the total surface area of cherries amounted to 74 hectares; to date, this figure has risen to 118; in the Valparaíso region, meanwhile, the numbers varied from 209 to 240.
The Metropolitan region currently has 3,681 hectares of this fruit species, compared to 1,158 10 years ago.
The Ñuble region currently has 2,973 hectares of cherry trees; the first records, according to the Odepa bulletin, are from 2019 with 1,600 hectares. In Biobío, meanwhile, the surface area reaches 718 hectares, with a significant decrease, considering that a decade ago they had 1,310. Of course, this can be explained by the division of the territory into a new region.
Further south, in the Araucanía region, there are currently 1,635 hectares of cherries, 1,253 more than in 2012. In Los Ríos, meanwhile, there are 362 hectares, while a decade ago there were only 28.
Los Lagos has seen significant growth over the past 10 years; it currently has a total area of cherry trees of 803 hectares, compared to only 28 hectares in 2012.
Finally, in the extreme south of Chile, the Aysén region has 244 hectares of cherries, concentrated in Chile Chico. The first record of the area, according to the Odepa bulletin, is from 2016 with a total of 206 hectares.
As noted above, the Maule and O'Higgins regions account for the largest number of hectares of cherry orchards, with a combined total of 50,784 hectares, representing 82.49 percent of the total.
Source: Odepa
