The Table Grape Committee of the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile (ASOEX) projects Chile will export 84.6 million boxes of 8.2 kilos (693,707 tons) of table grapes this season, i.e. 29.3% more than last season.
According to ASOEX data, up to week 14 (April 4-10), Chile had exported 485,217 tons of fresh table grape this season, which represents 69.95% of the total projected for the season and surpassed the forecast by 6.2%.
The month of April marks the peak of the arrival of Chilean table grape to China and shipping volumes have steadily increased in recent weeks. This season, the Chilean Table Grape Committee has deepened its cooperation with JD.com, the Chinese e-commerce giant, which is now serving as a key online promotion channel for Chilean table grapes, to encourage the consumption of this important volume of fruit.
On April 8, the Chilean Table Grape Committee and JD.com launched a three-week promotion called the “Grape Festival” with high-value discount coupons to entice consumers to buy Chilean table grapes online. Customer orders are delivered by JD.com's own logistics service, which is selling seedless green and red Chilean grape varieties in the self-managed fruit and vegetable section of its e-commerce platform.
The different types of grapes occupy 30% of the fruit plantation area in Chile and table grapes are the second most important fresh fruit exported from Chile -after cherries- to the Chinese market. In addition, Chile is China's main supplier of imported table grapes.
Source: simfruit.cl