Emergence of virus questions Chilean cherry export campaign

A month ago, Chile began the cherry export season with the first shipments to China, the main destination for this fruit, which receives 91% of total exported volume.

At present, the sector is faced with some concern. The demands to export the product to China have grown due to the detection of a phytopathogenic virus detected in Chilean cherries with a ban on entering only China, and not the rest of the markets.

Jorge Valenzuela, the president of Fedefruta, commented that in one month 3 or 4 codes have been found that indicate allusion to the virus. 300 boxes of cherries have been requisitioned, while it is considered that a total of 70 million will be shipped, and that some 10 million boxes must have already been exported.

The Chilean Embassy in China did not present any version of the incident. In the Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, they admit that since last year there has been a problem due to an endemic virus, but they say that it is not as serious as they registered a year ago.

Last season, the Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) was detected for the first time by Chinese agricultural authorities in consignments of Chilean cherries. Although it is a phytopathogenic virus, typical in cherries, that does not impact humans, supplies of around 15 exporting plants were suspended. Faced with this situation, the unions and the SAG and their counterparts in China drew up a protocol that involved observing the fruit in the field and in the processing plants in order to export the product to China. The document was published on October 18, on the eve of the start of the campaign.

Valenzuela commented that pests have arisen in Chile's export history and it is normal to be a concern at first, however there are solution mechanisms and protocols.

In turn, the protocol requires that all plants that want to send abroad must monitor their farms every 15 days, from flowering to harvest, to verify the presence of pests. In addition, prospecting work of 10% of the orchard surface must be carried out with laboratory analysis; uproot plants showing PNRSV and measure again. If the laboratory analysis is negative, it can be exported with additional measurements on the packaging, but if the virus is detected in 2 or more varieties, the orchard is suspended for export to China throughout the season, which is the most worrying.

As of December 2, there were 264 plants that were authorized by the SAG to export cherries to the Asian giant. The total of those who have requested authorization to do so amounts to 569 establishments.

Today, the updated protocol after the Prunus necrotic ringspot virus applies only to China, therefore, diversification to other destinations is one of the real options in case the pathogen is detected in the fruit.

Despite these concerns, the Chilean Cherry Committee estimates that it will export 9.8% more in the 2021/22 season than the previous year, totaling 387.268 tons. And already in November they planned to diversify the markets, designing campaigns in the US, Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan, India, Russia and Canada.

source: latercera.com, simfruit.cl

photo: chilealimentos.cl