Chilean citrus exports grew 9% in 2011
Chile's Association of Fruit Exporters (ASOEX) and citrus committee have announced the country's citrus exports rose 9% year-on-year in 2011 to 152,859 metric tons (MT).
The organizations reported navel oranges led the pack with a 13% rise to around 60,000MT, followed by easy peelers which rose 14% to 45,800MT.
Lemon exports rose just 1% while grapefruit shipments were down 11% to 1,373MT.
North America received 74% of shipments with 112,221MT, representing a 22% rise on the previous season. The Far East, which is Chile's second-largest citrus market, grew by 16% and represented 15% of the export total.
The other major markets of Europe and Latin America fell by 48% and 35% respectively.
Middle East intakes rose 7% year-on-year with 3,611MT.