Chile's Agricultural Research and Policy Office said in its new bulletin that from January to March 2024, Chile exported 1,125,22 tons of fruit, a decline of 1 percent, but the value of exports (on a FOB basis) reached $3,721 million, a 4 percent increase over the same period in 2023. Of the total exports, fresh fruits accounted for 89%, processed fruits (frozen, dried, pickled, fruit juice and fruit oil) accounted for 9%, and nuts accounted for 1%.

The main destination of Chile's fruit exports is China, accounting for 42.5% of the total exports, an increase of 8.2% over the same period in 2023; Followed by the United States accounted for 27.6%, an increase of 0.3%; The Netherlands accounted for 3.3%, up 10%; Mexico accounted for 3%, down 1.6%; Brazil accounted for 2.1 per cent, up 3.9 per cent. Among the fruits exported to China, cherries ranked first with exports of more than 310,000 tons, and nectarines ranked second with exports of nearly 43,000 tons, accounting for half of Chile's exports of this category.

The top five fruits exported during the reporting period were cherries, grapes, prunes, blueberries and nectarines. Cherries were the most important export category, with 345,977 tons exported, up 13% year-on-year, and exports of US $2.005 billion in FOB terms, up 10%. 90.5% of exports were destined for the Chinese market, followed by the United States (3.5%), Taiwan, China (1%), South Korea (0.9%) and Brazil (0.7%).

Exports of grape-related products were 267,213 tons, down 13% year-on-year, and FOB exports were $463 million, down 12%. Table grape exports accounted for about 92.7% of the total, totaling 247,731 tons, down 15%. The main destinations for grape exports are: the United States (71.8%), China (5.6%), Mexico (3.3%), Japan (2.9%) and Canada (2.3%). Raisins accounted for 3.7% of the category's exports at 9,858 tonnes, down 7% year-on-year. Main destination is the United States (11.3%), China (8.1%), UK (7.3%), Netherlands (6.7%) and Colombia (5.7%). Grape juice exports increased from 5,199 tons in January-March 2023 to 9,327 tons in the same period in 2024, a substantial increase of 79%. Destination country is Japan (39.8%), South Korea (13%), China (11.3%), Canada (6.4%) and Mexico (6.2%)

Prune exports reached 145,851 tons, an increase of 13% year-on-year, with FOB exports of $301 million. Fresh prunes accounted for 88% of the category at 128,415 tonnes, up 9%, with FOB exports of $240 million, down 6%. Main destination including the United States (71.8%), China (5.6%), Mexico (3.3%), Japan (2.9%) and Canada (2.3%). Prune exports increased by 60% to 15,961 tons, accounting for 11% of the total, and exports increased by 30% to $55 million. Main destination is the United States (11.3%), China (8.1%), UK (7.3%), Netherlands (6.7%) and Colombia (5.7%).

Exports of blueberries during the period reached 92,560 tons, up 7% year-on-year, and FOB exports amounted to $461 million, up 28% year-on-year. Of these, 81% were fresh blueberries, with exports of 75,382 tons, up 4%, and FOB exports of $402 million, up 27%. Main export destination is the United States (45.6%), Netherlands (22.0%), Germany (9.3%), Britain (7.7%) and China (5.7%). Exports of frozen blueberries, which accounted for 15%, increased by 36% to 14,009 tons, with FOB exports of $45 million, up 40% year-on-year. The main export destinations for frozen blueberries were the United States (40.6%), Australia (16.3%), South Korea (12.6%), Japan (8.1%) and New Zealand (4.8%).

Exports of nectarines amounted to 85,287 tons, up 11% year-on-year, and FOB exports amounted to $124 million, up 6%. Main export destination including China (50.2%), the United States (20.2%), Taiwan, China (5.8%), Mexico (5.5%) and the Netherlands (5%).

Processed fruits (frozen, dried, cured, juice and fruit oil) exported 122,241 tonnes during the period, with FOB exports of $317 million. Among them, frozen fruit exports increased by 19.5% to 39,602 tons, and FOB exports were $117 million, an increase of 18.8%. Berries accounted for 84.8% of frozen fruit exports, with blueberries, strawberries and blackberries being the three main fruits exported. Exports of dried fruit were 27,450 tons, up 22%, and FOB exports were $86 million, up 14.7%. The main fruits in this category are prunes, grapes and other berries, accounting for 44.4%, 47.4% and 4.7% respectively.