Chile’s Office of Agrarian Studies and Policies (Odepa) announced in its news bulletin that from January to April 2024, fruit exports were close to 1.5 million tons (+3.8 percent) only surpassed in 2018, and in terms of value they reached a historical record of $4.441 billion FOB (+7.2 percent), increasing for the fourth consecutive year compared to the same period of the previous year.
Cherries accounted for 46.1 percent of shipments, grapes 18.9 percent, blueberries 11.2 percent, plums 8.3 percent, and apples 3.3 percent.
Of the total exported, 88 percent corresponded to shipments of fresh fruit, 10.8 percent to processed fruit (frozen, dehydrated, preserved, juices and oils) and 1.2 percent to dried fruits.
Fresh fruit added shipments of 1.3 million tons (+3.6 percent) for $3.908 billion FOB (+8.0 percent). Cherries accounted for 52 percent of these shipments in terms of value, followed by grapes (20.1 percent), blueberries (10.6 percent), plums (7.5 percent) and nectarines (3.3 percent).
Regarding processed fruit, frozen products accounted for 4 percent of the total value with exports of 57.7 thousand tons (+31.5 percent) for $172 million FOB (+32.1 percent). The main fruits exported in this category were blueberries (38.7 percent), strawberries (25.4 percent), raspberries (11.0 percent), blackberries (8.9 percent) and other fruits (7.1 percent).
According to Odepa, dehydrated products represented 2 percent of the total value with shipments of 34.9 thousand tons (+19.4 percent) for $109 million FOB (+12.3 percent). The main fruits exported in this category were plums (60.9 percent), grapes (25.7 percent), apples (6.3 percent), other berries (3.5 percent) and other fruits (1.9 percent).
During the period, shipments were registered to more than 90 destinations, but three of them accounted for 80.9 percent: China, 51.1 percent of the shipments, with 507 thousand tons (+11.2 percent) for $2.267 billion FOB (+8.2 percent); the U.S. accounted for 21.7 percent of shipments, with 449 thousand tons (+11.3 percent) for $964 million FOB (+15.1 percent); Netherlands 4 percent of shipments, with 59 thousand tons (-4.4 percent) for $160 million FOB (+7.8 percent), United Kingdom 2 percent of shipments, with 30 thousand tons (-5.7 percent) for $91 million FOB (+14.7 percent) and Brazil 2 percent, with 44 thousand tons (+2.9 percent) for $87 million FOB (+21.6 percent).
The main fruits exported in terms of value, during the period, were cherries with 46.1 percent of shipments, followed by grapes (18.9 percent), blueberries (11.2 percent), plums (8.3 percent) and apples (3.3 percent).
