Chilean apple exporters are seeing a decrease in shipping costs that will help with much needed returns to growers, but more is needed to cover rising input costs. According Cristobal Rodriguez, a deputy manager from the Chilean producer and exporter Prize: “Despite the drop in ocean freight rates, we still need more pricing to cover all the other increases of input costs. The quality and condition looks good. The Galas has a good colour and taste. Pink Lady/Cripps Pink are catching up. Grannies are very firm and healthy.”
While Chile started the apple harvest with Galas in January, Prize started with Galas in February and in mid-April with Pink Lady/Cripps Pink. The company has orchards Between the VI Region – O’Higgins up to Ñuble in Chile. Their target is to reach 5,000 tons this 2023 season between Galas, Granny and Cripps Pink/Pink Lady.
“We export the Galas and Grannies mainly to South, Central America and the Middle East. Demand is strong in the early period, prices are between $22 to $18 FOB in Chile, everybody wants to start having fresh fruit from the new crop. Crips Pink/ Pink Lady are mainly exported to Europe, the UK and America, where pricing is more fuzzy. It depends on the stock in Europe, so far there is not much interest, but they must soon clean up their storage crop,” explains Rodriguez.
He says the markets that can grow and new ones are changing each year. “It’s difficult to say, every year is different, but what we have seen consumption is stable or even decreasing. There is new storage technologies that allow year round supply and a lot of buy local trends. For us South and Central America are good markets for early crops and along the season the others are subject to offers of different origins and local stocks. As for new markets, as long as the opportunity and the pricing is competitive we will take it,” concludes Rodriguez.
For more information:
Cristobal Rodriguez
Prize
Tel: +56 72 258 4880
Email: crodriguez@prize.cl
www.prize.cl