The first seven months of this year for prunes have been contrasting regarding billing and prices, according to data from Chile Prunes and the Office of Agricultural Policies and Studies (Odepa) of the Ministry of Agriculture.
The export volume has gone from 32.8 thousand tons in the first seven months of 2016 to 40.7 thousand tons in the same period, representing a 24% increase between one year and another. Meanwhile, the turnover achieved in the January-July 2017 period amounted to US $ 91.2 million (FOB), while the turnover in the previous period amounted to US $ 78 million in the previous period, i.e. there's been a 16.8% increase in the exported value.
Thus, these figures show that importers are paying less for the fruit compared to last year, as the growth in volume (tons) is greater than the percentage increase in returns ($). In addition, "the composition of the production in both years is totally different. The average caliber this year is 76 units/pound versus 89 units/pound in 2016. So while the average price only dropped from 2.25 to 2.24 USD / KG, the reality indicates a much sharper price decrease in 2017," stated Andres Rodriguez, executive director of Chile Prunes.
Additionally the fall of the dollar, which has had an accumulated drop of $45 so far this year, affects the entire fruit export sector, he said. "As a result, we have to be very cautious when making projections for 2017," he added.