“In this 2023-2024 season, we believe we will experience similar growth to last season, which would bring us close to a figure of around 100 million boxes,” said Claudia Soler, Director of the Cherry Committee at the Association of Exporters (ASOEX). A few months ago, the last shipments of the star fruit of Chilean exports left the country, especially to China, the main market, and the sector is already preparing to face a new season filled with challenges.

Reaching 100 million boxes will also involve entering other markets with all that new fruit, within China itself and other countries, explains the executive. The Asian giant with nearly 1.4 billion inhabitants has medium-sized cities with less than 10 million people that Chileans aim to conquer, as well as consumers in Korea, Thailand, and especially India, which emerges as a new and promising destination, with its enormous population now surpassing China, along with the increasing rise in purchasing power.

“It’s a market with great potential to absorb part of the expected future volume growth. While shipments are still in their early stages, cherry imports have grown by an average of 46% over the last 5 years,” Soler asserts, adding that this season will have a special focus on that market.

However, China is and will continue to be the main export market, responsible for 88% of Chilean cherry exports. “In this market, and due to the expected future growth in exported volumes, the main challenge is not only to increase the consumer base for Chilean cherries but also to increase the frequency and volume of purchases by our current consumers. We must target Tier 1 cities, where we are already known, and penetrate Tier 2 and 3 cities, where there is less awareness of the category”, said Soler.

Source: Pulso La Tercera