The Chilean Food and Beverages Industry:
FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
Chile is the Southern Hemisphere’s leader in fresh fruit exports and one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of fruits and vegetables. Chilean products are known worldwide for the reliability of the industry and their top quality, sanitary standards, and safety, and they have become very attractive to most consumers in highly demanding markets. The development of the Chilean fresh fruit and vegetable industry has been enhanced by the access that Chilean producers have to state-of-the-art technology for their facilities, processing equipment, and training.
Chile’s vast agricultural farmlands, as well as favorable climate and soil conditions, are especially conducive to obtaining a highly varied and regular supply of fruits and vegetables. As Chile grows and harvests during the Northern Hemisphere off-season, a wide variety of Chilean fresh fruit can be found in markets during the northern winter season.
The Chilean fruit industry is composed of more than 556 exporting companies (around 94% of these are of small and medium size) which are supplied by some 16.300 growers throughout the country. Approximately 220.000 hectares of cultivated land are dedicated to exports. The sector infrastructure currently operates more than 385 leading-edge cold-storage facilities, more than 100 large packing plants, and in excess of 1000 smaller packing facilities.
Chile currently ships over 75 kinds of produce items to 70 different countries. It is the largest exporter of table grapes and plums worldwide, second-largest kiwifruit and avocado producer, and it leads the Southern Hemisphere as a shipper of apples, plums, peaches, nectarines, pears, and berries. Export sales of Chilean fresh fruit have grown from only $168 millions in 1980, to more than $2 billion dollars in 2006.
During the 2005/2006 season, fruit exports totaled 2,192,764 tons, which represents an increase with respect to the previous season. Table grapes are the main export product within this category (37%), followed closely by apples (33%). In turn, these are followed by pears, kiwifruit, avocados, plums, peaches, nectarines, lemons, clementines, cherries, berries and others.
The United States is by far the most important destination of Chilean fruit exports. During the 2005/2006 season, 37% of the exports were destined to the United States, followed by Europe - representing 31% of exports – Latin America with 18%, and finally Asia with 9% of total exports. These four destination markets capture almost all fruit exports.
According to data provided by the US International Trade Commission (ITC), fruit imports in the United States rose to $1.2 billion dollars in 2006. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has stated that Chile is currently the country’s main supplier of fresh fruit and during the winter months is practically the sole provider of these fruits. In the case of apricots, cherries and plums, Chile contributes with more than 95% of the total imports in each category and is also the main supplier of apples, blueberries and table grapes.
Additionally, favorable weather conditions allow great tasting, large-sized vegetables, to grow in a vast array of intense colors. A large variety of products such as onions, garlic, asparagus, tomatoes, radicchio, green and red peppers, cabbages, artichokes, shallots, endives and mushrooms, are available around the world.
Chilean Fresh Fruit Association
Fruit Growers Federation of Chile