This season has been challenging for Chilean cherries, with low returns and a shipment valued at more than $100 million that may have to be destroyed.

The vessel Maersk Saltoro left the Port of San Antonio in Chile on Dec. 27, scheduled to arrive on Jan. 15. However, after a delay of 52 days, it finally arrived at the port of Nansha on Feb. 17, carrying 1,353 containers of Chilean cherries.

China’s sanitary authority is reviewing the condition of the cherry containers to determine whether the fruit can be marketed.

Claudia Soler, executive director of the Chilean Fruit Cherry Committee, said the organization has been monitoring the issue from the beginning to keep producers and exporters informed.

Soler commented, “According to what the Chinese authorities have informed us, the on-site inspections are currently being conducted to evaluate the conditions and quality of the fruit that recently arrived at the port of Nansha. Given the high volume of fruit transported, this task could take several days. We must now wait for the reports from these authorities to evaluate the possible scenarios."

Cherries and insurance

The president of the National Society of Agriculture, Antonio Walker, said, “In the first containers unloaded, we have seen a very weak fruit, with many rotting problems, and soft fruit. There are a lot of condition and quality problems. So, it's very likely that this fruit will not be able to go to market.”

Walker emphasized that insurance coverage is an important factor in this situation, adding that Chilean fruit growing has a historical relationship with insurance companies. "Given how perishable cherries are, maritime transport insurance is usually taken out.”

He said that most Chilean cherries transported on the Saltoro ship are insured, “therefore, we are sure that the insurance companies will respond as they have always done.” He also urged exporters to contact their insurance companies and review their contracts.

Current situation

Freshfruitportal.com spoke to Javier Saavedra, Commercial Manager of QIMA Produce, a company that participated in analyzing the first containers. He said that on Tuesday, February 18, the Chinese authorities were continuing to assess the fruit.

Saavedra added that there is no information from customs on the steps to follow regarding the fruit in bad condition. “Customs is looking for more places to destroy the cargo, to help in the massive destruction of all the cargo that arrived on the ship.”

Saavedra warned that the fruit’s serious condition issues make commercialization impossible and could harm the reputation of Chile’s cherry and broader fruit industry.

The general manager of QC FRUIT, Agustín Cornejo, added that the containers randomly inspected by Chinese phytosanitary authorities showed “levels of rotting and splitting.”

He noted that authorities are handling the situation carefully, as the shipment has generated significant attention on social media.

At the time of publication, laboratory results were still pending to determine the fruit’s fate.

Cornejo said that if they decide that the fruit is not fit for human consumption, they will have to destroy all the fruit "It is an expensive process, which costs US$1,000 per ton of fruit. I think that initially, the importers may have to pay for it, which is most likely. But later, they may be able to reimburse it with insurance”.

On Feb. 18, D-Quality Service BV reported that between 120 and 200 containers from the Maersk Saltoro vessel have been unloaded, but the process has been temporarily suspended.

The containers that remain on board are being kept under refrigeration. Some declared containers have not been unloaded, while the undeclared containers that have already been unloaded are being refrigerated at the terminal.

Out of 20 containers inspected—about 10% of those unloaded—four were reviewed on Feb. 17 and 16 on Feb. 18. Most showed signs of rotting and mold.