The first shipment of Chilean fruit of the import season arrived in Delaware this week to kick off the start of the import season in the United States.The refrigerated bulksteam vessel arrived this Monday at the Port of Wilmington to mark the start of the Chilean fruit season in the United States. The ship carried nearly 6,600 pallets of table grapes, blueberries, cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots and plums.
“Over the past decades this industry has been one of the most dynamic and innovative sectors of the Chilean economy, and the US is the main destination market for our agricultural products,” said Chilean Ambassador Felipe Bulnes in a press release. “We look forward to further strengthening the relationship between Chile and the State of Delaware.”
Chile's counter-season fruit harvest runs from November though April, which allows it to ship fruit to the United States when most US fruit is out of season. Last year, the Port of Wilmington alone handled 15.9 million cases of fruit from Chile, which was estimated to have a value of $600 million.