23 days after leaving the Port of Valparaiso, the first batch of Chilean cherry containers of the season arrived in Hong Kong and was unloaded at Modern Terminals, a member of the Hong Kong Seaport Alliance.
According to recent estimates by the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile (Asoex), this season, cherry exports will increase by 20% over the previous season.
"The industry has reacted and adjusted its supply to the strong demand for this product, especially in China. The challenge is to supply a market that is hungry for this product, especially around the Chinese New Year, and, at the same time, increase efforts to develop new markets," stated Ivan Marambio, the president of Asoex.
Grape and blueberry exports are expected to decrease
Things are different in the case of grapes, which will soon reach the markets, and blueberries, he stressed. “We expect grape and blueberry export volumes to decrease when compared to the previous season and in line with what we have seen in recent seasons.”
"In these cases, the industry's adaptation has focused on the substitution of varieties. In the case of blueberries, this season we are seeing a significant increase in frozen exports, which is due both to the dynamics of the market and to the nature of the variety replacement process. This industry is still in a period of adjustment to the new global competitive conditions and we expect it to stabilize and resume its growth in the coming years,” Marambio stated.
Source: lavozdechile.com