Chilean table grapes shipments this season reached 536,248 metric tons (MT), showing an 11 percent decrease year-on-year, according to data from the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile (ASOEX).
"This drop can 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, preventing normal commercialization," president of ASOEX, Ronald Bown Fernández said.
Regarding markets, the U.S. ranked as the main destination with 257,000MT received, followed by Asia with almost 137,800MT, Europe with around 83,000MT, then Latin America, Canada and the Middle East.
Within Asia, the main market was China with almost 81,000MT, followed by South Korea at 24,000MT, Japan at 11,500MT and Indonesia with 9,600MT.
In Latin America, the main destinations were Mexico with 9,200MT, Ecuador at 9,000MT, then Brazil and Colombia with 4,000MT and 2,500MT, respectively.
In the Middle East, the main destinations for Chilean table grapes were Saudi Arabia at 4,100MT, the United Arab Emirates with 1,300MT, followed by Oman and the Ivory Coast.
Origins and varieties
According to ASOEX, the first Chilean grapes to be exported to international markets are from the north of Chile, in this regard it is important to note that 87,600MT were shipped from the III Region, reflecting an increase of over seven percent year-on-year.
From the IV Region, 117,000MT were exported showing over a ten percent increase and the V Region had a five percent increase to 111,000MT.
"Although the table grapes produced in the regions described above did not reflect losses, the impacts of the rains in January 2021 are beginning to be seen in the central zone."
"The VI Region saw a decrease of 31 percent, the VII Region a 23 percent drop and the Metropolitan Region with a 24 percent decrease," he said.
Regarding varieties, the main export volumes were Red Globe, Crimson Seedless, Thompson Seedless and Sweet Celebration.
