After a relatively slow start to the Chilean cherry season, the first charter flight arranged by Chinese produce company Frutacloud touched down in Shanghai earlier this week.

The Air Cargo China flight landed at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport on Nov. 13, according to Frutacloud, which is one of China's leading business-to-business (B2B) produce platforms.

The cherries passed through the necessary inspection procedures and arrived in the main wholesale market in the afternoon.

Around 90% of Chilean cherry exports are typically sent to China, where there is often high demand and prices for the fruit from the world's leading exporter.

Chile has experienced a cooler and wetter start to the spring than normal, and according to Chilean Cherry Committee president Cristián Tagle the harvests are anywhere from seven to 10 days behind a normal year.

But he said cooler weather meant quality was very good this season.

Cherries are currently reported to be in very high demand in China, with a lot of fruit having been sold in the run-up to Singles' Day on Nov. 11 - a major shopping period in the country - which has sent prices soaring.

Frutacloud also mentioned its representative had recently been to Chile to visit production sites, and Brix levels are said to be in excess of 15 degrees.

This is Frutacloud's third year chartering flights specifically for Chilean cherries. The company said that this batch of cherries is of consistent quality, and adds that there is sufficient volume for the market.

Smaller quantities of Chilean cherries shipped by individual companies have also arrived in China over the past couple of weeks.

Growing conditions have overall been good this year in Chile, despite the relatively wet spring. Expectations are that the industry may achieve exports of around 30 million boxes this year, which would mark a significant year-on-year boost.

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