Since its inception in 2009, and with few exceptions, Goodvalley - a partner company of Chileprunes - has increased the volume of dehydrated plums it exports by 12 to 15% each year; the 2020/2021 season would not be the exception, and its exports may even increase by 18 %.
This year, the company shipped 5,500 tons. In the 2021 harvest, the figure will range from 6,000 to 6,500 tons, says Bruno Ceroni, Goodvalley's commercial manager.
Fortunately, the drought didn't affect the area of Colchagua too much this year. In addition, the pandemic hasn't been an obstacle for the company, nor for the Chilean nut industry in general, as they have taken the respective sanitary measures to face it. The markets of Europe and Asia, where Goodvalley allocates 60% and 40% of its dehydrated plums, respectively, have been active.
Bruno Ceroni.
Important investment
Goodvalley exports dried plums to more than 25 countries around the world. Its main destinations in Europe are Germany, Poland, Italy, and Denmark. The most relevant destinations in Asia are China, Taiwan, Thailand, and Singapore.
The company invested 2 million dollars to build 20 drying tunnels an additional 30 ovens, for a total of 50, that will be available for the next harvest, which takes place in the first half of 2021. "We currently are the only company with 50 ovens and a centralized process for all products," Ceroni stated.
This is one of the requirements to enter the demanding Japanese market, which pays a significant price differential for the North American plum because it performs these technical processes. Japan pays much more than what other Asian countries pay for the plum from other destinations, the executive stated.
Goodvalley has been making significant investments in recent years. In 2019 they built 3,500 m² of warehouses.
Bruno Ceroni said the Chilean industry had the potential to export 100,000 tons of dehydrated plums if it wasn't affected by relevant climatic events. In 2019, however, there were strong frosts that lowered production, and this year there was a drought in certain sectors (Melipilla, Pirque, etc.) and an excess in post-flowering heat that affected the final production volume. That will bring the production down to 75,000 tons and since 15,000 to 20,000 tons will be allocated for the fresh market, estimates are that the next season will end at 55,000 to 60,000 tons.
For more information:
Goodvalley
Rinconada El Salto 100, Huechuraba, Santiago (Chile)
Tel.: +56 2 25825705
info@goodvalley.cl
www.goodvalley.cl