Chilean Cherry Committee reveals quality guide for export cherries

Being oriented on improvements in quality and consistency of cherries for export, the Chilean Cherry Committee of the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile (ASOEX) published a "Recommended quality guide for export cherries" . The guide contains requirements for the fruit, such as size, firmness, sweetness, as well as a standardized color and size nomenclature for labeling.

With so many exporters contributing to the development of the quality guide, the initiative is projected to positively impact Chilean cherry exports.

Cristian Tagle, president of the Cherry Committee, commented that thanks to this activity, importers can now have even more confidence that when they choose to collaborate with one of the member firms of the Committee, they will receive a high quality product.

Among the new requirements are the correct labeling of varieties, the designations of "light sweet cherries" and "dark sweet cherries", in situations when the single name of the variety cannot be used.

The Committee has also agreed on specific standards for cherries destined for China. For example, as of December 1, 2021, the minimum size of cherries exported to China will be XL, which means that L-size fruit will no longer be exported to this destination.

Soon, the Chilean Cherry Committee will implement the new uniform color and size labeling standards for the 2021/22 season, as indicated in the table below.