Record for Chilean Cherries: more than 150 thousand tons exported

As worldwide demand for cherries grows, so too do Chile’s production volumes.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the area of cherries planted in Chile. At the same time, the country’s producers have opted for new, more productive varieties, which are better-tasting and have a longer post-harvest life.  All of this investment is finally paying off. So far in the 2018 season, Chilean cherry exports are in excess of 30 million boxes, equivalent to 150 thousand tons, marking a real milestone for the sector. Thanks to the good weather conditions at the beginning of 2018 and the systematic increase in surface area, January’s output broke the record from the 2014-15 campaign of 21,750,157 boxes (approximately 100,000 tons). With these volumes, Chilean cherries will supply the Chinese market even after the Chinese New Year. It should also be noted that a sizeable public-private investment of US$5 million has been made by members of the Cherry Committee, ASOEX and ProChile to carry out promotional initiatives aimed at increasing consumption and raising consumer awareness of the ‘Cherries from Chile’ brand. Of the total volume of Chilean cherries exported to the world, Asia receives 89%. the US 4.8%, Latin America 3.2%, Europe 2.4%, Canada 0.4% and the Middle East 0.1%. China alone imports 94% of Chile’s cherry shipments to the Asia Pacific region.