Leading up to the start of the season, the Chilean cherry industry anticipated a record crop in excess of 130 million boxes. While the record will still be broken, the anticipated volume has come down to 124 million boxes, an increase of 50 percent over last season. "The downward adjustment is the result of a significant fruit drop in some early and mid-season varieties including Lapins, and less-than-ideal pollination conditions for Regina," says Richard Isaacs with Global Fruit.
While the Chileans are very positive and truly believed in the possibility of harvesting, packing and shipping 130 million boxes of cherries within a time frame of three months, the revised estimate may not be a bad development. "The crop will be more manageable, which is better for the industry," commented Isaacs. "It also increases hopes of prices staying firm."
Cherries from South America in Global Fruit branded bags.
First ocean container arrived in China
Fruit quality has been good. The early Santina variety gave the season a good start in terms of sizing and fruit condition. "Now, it's full speed ahead as we're getting into the peak season." For some destinations, this means a transition from air freight to ocean freight. China, who buys more than 90 percent of Chile's cherries, welcomed the first ocean container last week and hundreds more are expected to follow. This is prime shipping time for cherries that need to arrive in China before Chinese New Year (CNY) on January 29. "The cutoff to pack cherries and arrive in China ahead of CNY is mid-December, so from now until December 15, it's full throttle every day," Isaacs commented. Demand is very high leading up to CNY and growers and shippers want to take advantage of this opportunity.
The first air freight cherries arrived in the U.S. and Canada around mid-October and since then, Global Fruit has continued to fly in cherries every week for their North American retail partners. "We will continue to have airfreight arrivals until the end of the year with the first ocean freight arrival scheduled for December 16," Isaacs said. The switch to ocean freight will result in cherries becoming more affordable and allows retailers to run ads and drive sales.
Orchards in Los Antiguos, Argentina are surrounded by huge poplar trees that serve as wind breaks. When the first cherries are almost ready for harvest in Chile, the trees in Los Antiguos are only just coming into blossom.
Outstanding quality from Argentina
While Chile is the largest cherry growing country, Argentina also has an important place in the market. "We work with a number of growers and packers in Argentina and started shipping Santina cherries by air early November," Isaacs shared. From the Mendoza growing region, air shipments will continue through the third week of December. In addition, cherries are being harvested now in the Rio Negro Valley and Los Antiguos will follow. The climate in this unique growing region mimics British Columbia's cherry growing regions. "Cool nights, warm days, clean water and a long growing season make Los Antiguos cherries very special." Here, harvest will start between Christmas and New Year and will continue into February with ocean freight arrivals into March. Some customers prefer to only buy air-freight cherries, and from Los Antiguos we can make that happen until February, but most of those cherries will still be shipped by ocean.
Global Fruit ships cherries to North America, Europe, the Middle East and several Asian countries, including China. "We've specialized in late-season cherries from Canada for more than 20 years and have built our reputation on premium quality. Chile and Argentina are a natural counter-seasonal fit for us and our customer base, especially those last cherries from Los Antiguos that are very similar to the fruit we grow right here in BC."
For more information:
Richard Isaacs
Global Fruit
Tel: (+1) 250-428-2320
[email protected]
www.globalfruit.org