Chilean table grape exports for the 2020-2021 season reached 536,248 tons, reflecting a decrease of 11 percent compared to the previous year’s 603,554 tons, according to ASOEX BB #:156234.
Ronald Bown Fernández, the President of ASOEX, pointed out that this decline could be explained mainly by the rains that occurred in January, which caused production losses at the time, and subsequently, damaged the condition and quality of the fruit, which prevented its normal marketing, as reported by Simfruit.
In terms of the market, the U.S. ranks as the main destination with 256,946 tons received, followed by Asia with 137,751 tons, Europe with 83,413 tons, Latin America with 36,722 tons, Canada with 14,983 tons and the Middle East with 6,432 tons.
The first Chilean grapes to be exported to international markets are from the north of Chile. It is worth noting that 87,619 tons were shipped from the Third Region, reflecting an increase of 7.42 percent compared to the previous year; 117,145 tons were exported from the Fourth Region, reflecting an increase of 10.56 percent; and 111,090 tons of table grapes were exported from Region V, reflecting an increase of 5.08 percent.
While the grapes produced in these regions did not reflect losses, the impacts of the rains in January 2021 are beginning to be reflected from the central zone. 142,016 tons were shipped from the VI Region, reflecting a decrease of 31 percent; 2,704 tons were shipped from Region VII, reflecting a decrease of 23 percent; and 75,663 tons were shipped from the Metropolitan Region, reflecting a decrease of 24 percent.
The main exported variety corresponds to Red Globe with 139,888 tons, followed by Crimson Seedless with 81,786 tons, Thompson Seedless with 53,321 tons, and Sweet Celebration with 25,135 tons.
