Shipping of Chilean cherries is winding down. “There was a lot of excitement about Chilean cherries last season and all of our promotions generated substantial sales increases,” says Karen Brux, North America managing director of Frutas de Chile, noting that the Chilean Cherry Committee had originally projected 95.4 million boxes for the 2023/24 season, a 15 percent increase over last year. “We were excited to get more volume and build even bigger, better promotions. Unfortunately, Mother Nature intervened and the volume increases originally projected out of Chile didn’t materialize. Shipping is coming to a close and it looks like total exports will be slightly less than last year.”
Through week 5, Chile had shipped 13,829 tons of cherries to the U.S., which represents 3.4 percent of total shipments this season with 384,688 tons (94 percent) shipped to the Far East. Brux says that U.S. shipments started slowly in week 4, with weeks 50-52 the peak weeks.
“We kicked off promotions in December and will continue through the third week of February, which is National Cherry Month, but our key focus for promotions this season was in January,” says Brux, noting that supply was greatest during this time.
Decreased shipments
Globally, comparing total global shipments through Week 5 of this season vs. shipments through the same week last season, there has been a decrease. Chile shipped 415,040 tons (83,008,073 boxes) of cherries through Week 5 of 2023 and 408,996 tons (81,799,105 boxes) through Week 5 of 2024.
Variety-wise, Lapins were the dominant variety, followed by Santina and Regina.
While Chile is the dominant supplier of cherries during the winter months, the market also receives small volumes of cherries from Argentina and Tasmania.
Meanwhile, the Chilean Cherry Committee remains focused on developing the U.S. market for Chilean cherries. “Weather can sometimes be a disrupting force, but that’s the nature of the fresh produce industry,” says Brux. “Our marketing campaign this year has grown consumer awareness and generated high-impact merchandising programs from retailers. The U.S. remains the second largest export market for Chilean cherries and we anticipate continued market expansion over the coming years.”
For more information:
Karen Brux
Frutas De Chile
Tel (+1) 650-218-5061
kbrux@frutasdechile.cl
www.frutasdechile.cl