Decline in cherry exports in Argentina

In the 2022/23 season, Argentine cherry exports totaled 4,740 tons, reflecting a 12% decrease compared to the 2021/22 period.

In the last 5 years, cherry production and exports in Argentina have shown increases and declines, without a clear trend. In the 2019/20 season, exports totaled 5,547 tons; in 2020/21, 6,070 tons, and in 2021/22, 5,433 tons, according to the Integrated Producers Argentinean Cherries Association (CAPCI).

The drop observed in the export of the current season is directly related to the climatic problems that cherry farms across the country experienced, says Aníbal Caminiti, manager of the CAPCI, partly justifying the trends reflected in the external trade of the product. 

However, private statistics show that, regardless of the climate, the activity has not presented an increase in its implanted area for 10 years. 

At this point, it is worth mentioning the lack of competitiveness shown by exports, due to the existing exchange rate delay (the activity receives a dollar of 205 pesos against the 390 pesos in the market) and the high production costs.

A recent study by the chamber details that Chubut became the main cherry-exporting province in 2022/23, displacing Rio Negro, which until last season led the ranking in volumes sold abroad, but whose exports fell 45% in just 2 years.

According to the source, China was the main market, receiving 32% of the exported volume, followed by the United States with 31%, Spain with almost 10%, the United Kingdom with 8%, the United Arab Emirates with 6%, and Singapore with 3%. 

The study adds that the Argentine exportable share maintains a balanced distribution for different international regions, slightly increasing its shipments to the Asian market by 37%, while decreasing its participation in the U.S. and Canada to 32% and stabilizing at 21% for the European Union and Great Britain, and 8% in the Middle East.

source: lmnequen.com, simfruit.cl