China Fresh Sweet Cherry insights

According to the website of the Chilean Cooperative Radio, Mónica Ahumada, an expert on Asian issues at the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Santiago, said that in 2005, Chile became the first Latin American country to sign a free trade agreement with China. At that time, the main products exported by Chile to China were copper, cellulose, fish meal, seafood and wine, and the top fresh fruit was grapes, ranking sixth. In 2012, Chile exported cherries to China for the first time. Driven by the strong demand of the Chinese market, cherries have now become Chile's third largest export product. As for the reason why Chilean cherries are popular in the Chinese market, Ahumada believes that the current purchasing power of China is completely different from that in the 1970s, and Chinese people now have the ability to consume cherries. In Chinese supermarkets, he has seen people put wine and cherries into carts. For Chinese people, diet is important, so fruit consumption is also important. Marcela Vera, an economist at the Faculty of Business and Economics (FAE) of the University of Santiago Vera emphasized the policies introduced by the Chilean government to develop the Chinese market. Now, 90% of Chile's exported cherries go to the Chinese market. The agreement reached by the Ministry of Agriculture and other different institutions involved in the export business has made cherries highly valued in Asia. In order to export more cherries, Chilean companies have adopted advanced technologies, such as using modified atmosphere packaging to ensure the freshness of the fruit during transportation; through precision irrigation technology, sustainable crop management; and the establishment of a clear logistics and distribution system. At present, the transportation time of the "Cherry Express" has been reduced to 22 days, and the direct express line has been opened in Tianjin Port, which has facilitated the distribution of cherries in northern China. Considering the huge demand in the Chinese market, the area of cherry cultivation in Chile has continued to grow, currently exceeding 70,000 hectares, from Ovalle to R. de Los Lagos. Miguel Aburto, a scholar from the Department of Agricultural Management at the University of Santiago, said: Aburto firmly believes: "Cherries will remain attractive for some time to come. Chile is working hard to develop the cherry industry, and Peru and Argentina are also working hard to grow cherries. But so far, we have no competitors in Latin America."

Portalfruticola.com spoke with the president of Decofrut, Manuel Alcaino, who commented on the factors that have influenced the drop in prices of Chilean cherries in China of up to 60%.

Core Tip: According to information provided by Claudia Soler, executive director of the Chilean Cherry Committee under the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (Frutas de Chile), Chile has exported about 486,000 tons of fresh cherries to China so far in the 2024/25 production season, equivalent to about 97 million boxes (5kg/box).