Ronald Bown, the President of the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile AG (Asoex), delivered the final balance of Chile's 2019-2020 fruit export season, which took place from September 1, 2019, to August 31, 2020.
In this period, the country exported 2,537,079 tons of fresh fruits abroad, i.e. 6.8% less than in the previous year. 31.7% of this volume was sent to the United States, 24.8% to Asia, 20.3% to Europe, 18.2% to Latin America, 3% to the Middle East, and 2% to Canada.
“The drop in exports wasn't mainly due to the pandemic, but to lower production of species such as table grapes. The grape sector is undergoing an important varietal reconversion process and had to face some water availability issues in some areas. Blueberries and kiwis are other examples, as they are in a restructuring process. The production volumes were also affected by variable weather conditions,” Ronald Bown stated.
Markets
The United States continues to be the main market for Chilean fresh fruits, in terms of volumes, with shipments of 775,156 tons. However, exports reflect a 10.2% decrease over the previous season, mainly due to the fact that the sector is promoting new destinations, and the decrease in volumes destined for this destination.
Exports to China are increasing. In fact, during the 2019-2020 financial year, China-Hong Kong received 464,709 tons, nearly 3% more than in the previous season. This consolidates it as the second destination for Chilean fruit. The main fruits shipped to China-Hong Kong are cherries (207,775 tons), table grapes (11,877 tons), plums (59,464 tons), and nectarines (29,810 tons).
Europe ranked third with 553,432 tons and a slight 0.2% increase. The main fruits shipped to this destination were apples (169,057 tons, + 15.3%), table grapes (96,755 tons, -0.9%), avocados (86,146 tons, -12.4%), and kiwis (60,544 tons, +5 ,2%)
Main fruit species
For the fourth season, apples are Chile's main fruit exported with 625,032 tons (-11.6%). They were followed by table grapes with 603,371 tons (-7.7%).
Cherries ranked third in volume with 228,586 tons (+ 27%), but first in returns.
Kiwis ranked fourth with 145,251 tons and a -11.3% decrease in exports.
For more information:
ASOEX
www.asoex.cl