Chilean cherry production will slightly increase in the next campaign

According to the latest GAIN report from USDA, in recent years, cherry production in Chile has been on a constant growth.

The growth is explained by the increase in cultivated area, and by maturation of young orchards. The total output will grow as long as young orchards continue to reach their production potential. 

In the last 10 years, cherry planted area in Chile grew significantly. According to the report, in 2021/22 marketing year (MY), total area planted with cherries will reach 44,000 hectares, +11.5% over MY2020/21. 

Despite the significant area increase, for MY2021/22, according to the report from the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Santiago, production will increase by 3% and reach 395,000 tons. The expected increases in area will be offset by a reduction in yields. 

Droughts and possible frost damage have forced producers to develop a strategy to maintain fruit quality and size. Pruning trees more and thinning flowers and fruit to maintain appropriate size will result in better quality of the fruit in spite of the weather conditions, but at the same time, in reduced yields. 

In MY2020/21, commercial production volume reached 384,000 tons of cherries, +50.6% over MY2019/20. The increased production volumes brought new challenges for producers in terms of production, harvest, and packing. The problem is that the existing processing capacity of cherries reached its peak due to production volume increase.

Good climatic conditions in winter and spring in MY2020/21 favored productivity but there were size and quality problems due to the difficulty of processing the fruit on time.

MY 2021/22 is expected to have a winter with high average temperatures and insufficient precipitation; and most of the cherry production areas might face a deficit of water. Mainly the central and northern regions of Chile will be affected by the drought which will reduce cherry production potential. 

According to the Chilean Meteorological Agency, there is also a risk of frost which could affect the bloom. 

Considering these risks, productivity

Meanwhile, exports will increase by 3% (364,000 tons) over MY2020/21. 

In MY2020/21 (data until May) cherry exports reached 353,231 tons, which is +54.3% percent over MY2019/20. Export value increased by 57.8% and reached $1.87 billion.

Chile exports cherries to more than 50 countries, and China remains the major destination. In MY2020/21 China received 321,868 tons of Chilean cherries and represented 91% of total Chilean cherry exports. The second top market is the U.S. with 6,863 tons (2% percent of total volume exported). 

The main cherry varieties are Santina, Regina and Lapins. An optimal date of harvest in Chile is from November to January depending on the variety. 

source: fas.usda.gov

photo: elcomercioagrario.com