Chilean cherry exports reached 99,461 tonnes in 2014/15, rising by 45 per cent on last season and setting a new volume record for the industry. The increase came in spite of the losses caused by heavy rainfall at key stages of the season and was due mainly to new acreage and varieties coming into production.
Cristián Tagle, president of the Chilean Cherry Committee, said in spite of the record volume, 2014/15 had been one of the most challenging seasons the industry had ever experienced.
“In late November and mid-December we suffered excessive rains, which resulted in inconsistent quality for our main varieties, Bing and Lapins,” he told Fruitnet.
Asia was once again the principle export market, accounting for 83 per cent of the export volume. China absorbed 76 per cent of total shipments. Ten years ago, only 23 per cent of shipments went to East Asia. By contrast, the US accounted for just 9 per cent of the shipment total, down from 45 per cent a decade ago.
“Last season the Chinese market took 2,800 containers; this season that figure grew by 60 per cent to around 4,300 containers, which presented a huge challenge,” Tagle noted. “We used to be virtually alone in China, whereas now we have to compete with arrivals from Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.”
However, Tagle said there was still huge potential in the Chinese market: “We sell to specialist stores, wholesale markets and the supermarkets and we believe there are opportunities to grow all three.”
According to the CCC, high levels of investment are required in farms to protect next season’s crop from possible heavy spring rains.
“Other key challenges we face as an industry include improving the logistics for exports to Asia and diversifying our export markets in the region and opening new markets,” Tagle said.
He pointed to the recent success in gaining access to the Japanese market for cherries not requiring fumigation under the so-called Systems Approach.
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