Chilean 2023 fresh fruit shipments drop in volume, grow in value

Overview of blueberries, table grapes and apples from Chile in the U.S. market, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published on January 15, 2024.

During January-November 2023, Chile exported a total of 2,947,000 tons of fruit for a value of $6.89 billion FOB, (sales values are subject to adjustments by IVV1).

Compared to the same period in 2022, there is a decrease in exported volume of 5.4 percent, and an increase of 10.8 percent in value, as reported by Odepa.

Of this total in value, 73 percent corresponds to fresh fruit, 16.7 percent to processed fruit (juices, oils, preserves, frozen, dehydrated), and 10% to dried fruits (walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, among others).

Fresh fruit exports reached 2,306,000 tons, equivalent to $5.04 billion FOB for the analysis period. These exports registered a decrease in volume of 6.6 percent, and in value an increase of 12.3 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.

The main commodities exported in the analysis period in this group were cherries, registering a volume of 307,000 tons, equivalent to $1.86 billion FOB, which represents 57.8 percent of the total value of fresh fruit exports in the analysis period. There is an increase of 5.3 percent in volume and 17.2 percent in value in shipments of this fruit, compared to the same period in 2022. The main destination is China with 90.8 percent.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

Table grapes are next in importance, with 495,639 tons equivalent to $903.2 million FOB, which represents 20.4 percent of the total value of fresh fruit exports. There is a decrease in shipments of 18 percent in volume and 5 percent in value, compared to the same period of the previous year, with the U.S. standing out as the main buyer in this period (44.6 percent) and China (14.4 percent).

In third place are apples, with shipments of 467,863 tons equivalent to $500 million FOB, which represents 11 percent of the total value of fresh fruit exports. There is a decrease of 20.2 percent in volume shipped and 1 percent in value, compared to the same period of the previous year. The main destination country was the U.S. (33.2 percent), followed by Colombia (13 percent), and Brazil (9.4 percent).

And in fourth place is blueberries, with shipments of 74,807 tons and $343 million FOB, equivalent to 7 percent of the total value of fresh fruit exports. There is a decrease of 19 percent in volume shipped and 7.0 percent in value compared to the same period of the previous year. The main destinations were the U.S. (45.1 percent) and the Netherlands (17.0 percent).

Processed fruits reached shipments of 591,507 tons equivalent to $1.155 billion FOB during January-November 2023, which represents a decrease in exports of 6 percent in volume and 3 percent in value, compared to the same period of the previous year.

The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.

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