Diversifying shipment destinations has been the key not to succumbing to the recession in Europe.
According to preliminary figures, shipment volumes would have fallen around 1%, but their value is estimated to have risen, as prices went up by around 10%.
Table grapes continue to be Chile's most important product, and according to Cristián Allendes, president of the Fedefruta, "it was a better season than last year, as prices were around 10% higher. Things went well in the Mid-South, although not as much in Copiapó and some sectors from the Coquimbo region, which suffered lower prices than in previous years."
And although apples "gave a scare" with a 15% fall in production, Manuel Alcaíno, president of Decofrut, explained that "with the heat, apples matured very quickly, which brought a loss in exportable volumes. But eventually the lower production did not have an impact on the results, because prices in the US and Europe were very good."
In any case, the two products with the greatest rise in volumes were cherries and avocados. Allendes assured that "cherry volumes rose by close to 30% and prices remained at last year's levels (which were good)." he added that "60% of all cherry shipments go to Asia and there is still plenty of room for growth."
Regarding avocados, Fedefruta's president said that "volumes increased after two years suffering frosts, and prices also went up. I think avocados will continue to grow."
Diversification: the Saviour
Faced with the threat of a recession in the European fruit market, Germán Illanes, commercial manager of Unifrutti, explained that "the key was learning to diversify, shipping the right product to those markets where better results were expected. In our case, this season we exported to over 50 countries from every continent."
José Luis Soler, president of Copefrut, said that "agricultural product consumption in Spain rose by 6%, which in this time of recession means that meat and other more expensive food items have been replaced by fruit. With this I mean to say that although our shipments suffered drawbacks in some Western European countries, in other places they remained the same. In Scandinavia and Eastern Europe the markets are still quite dynamic."
As regards next season, Soler pointed out that "I have good expectations for the near future, because unfortunately for the Northern Hemisphere, they have suffered many weather-related problems, which gives our exports an advantage." Allendes also emphasized that "I expect us to grow by around 5% next season." While Alcaíno said that "I believe we will gain some ground with grapes, and cranberries and cherries will continue to grow."
Market Leaders
The international firm Dole is still the leader in worldwide fruit exports, followed by Unifrutti. Close behind we find a group of six fruit producers whose position in the ranking can quickly vary, as their export volumes are very similar. This denotes the lack of market concentration in Chile's fruit industry.
Source: Estrategia