Chile's dried plum season promises to be better than last year's season

The D'Agen plum's development period began a few weeks ago in Chile. These plums are later dried and exported to more than 75 countries.

Nicolás Tagle, Kaikén's producer and quality manager, projects an auspicious outlook for the 2025 harvest: "Production is more stable and even, which augurs a better yield for dried plums. Some fields had to be thinned, but these were specific cases. There was a slightly larger abortion rate than usual, which helped to regulate the trees' load allowing balanced growth. We are seeing trees with good potential and fruit of superior quality, which is an encouraging sign for the sector."

Moderate temperatures and uniform flowering have been key factors. "Last year the crop had low Brix degrees because of the weather. This year, the weather conditions have been better and the crop's development has been optimal; so we expect to have higher Brix degrees, which helps with better conversions," stated Tagle, who expressed optimism about the yield of dehydrated plums this year, with calibers that are estimated in the 70/80 ranges, a significant improvement over the results of 2023.

Tagle also highlighted the importance of proper planning for the drying process, which will begin in February. "We are working with producers to ensure everything is ready for the drying season. We expect a more uniform and better quality crop," he said.

According to Patricio Pávez, general manager of Agrícola La Palma, "We had a good accumulation of cold hours in the area of Lolol this winter, which allowed the orchards to reach a normal load. Thus, we shouldn't have Brix problems. However, there was an excess of fruit in some specific orchards in the area, which could slightly affect this indicator."

"There's less fruit than last year. The trees are bearing less fruit than last season but it's been necessary to thin the orchards that have excess fruit. Bearing fewer fruits helps increase in caliber. Having a lower load allows the fruit to achieve bigger sizes," he said.

Regarding the plants' phenology, Pávez said that last year they had been about 10 days behind chronologically, but they were on schedule this year.

He also said the fruit had the same size and caliber as in week 48 of 2023.