The webinar held today by the Global Cherry Summit has been hailed a major success, with hundreds of professionals coming together to share crucial information about the past and future of the Chilean cherry industry.

The webinar entitled “Cherries 2021: Challenges and opportunities after a complex season”, was co-organized by Yentzen Group and the Cherry Committee of Asoex, and sponsored by Unitec, Global Reefers and Elifab Packman. 

Attended by 750 industry actors from Chile and around the world, it took place on Thursday morning and included captivating presentations and a panel discussion by key industry actors. 

The webinar was moderated by Yentzen Group President Gustavo Yentzen, and included the presentations by Cristian Tagle, President of the Cherry Committee of ASOEX; Claudio Vial, General Manager of Ranco Cherries; and Ignacio Caballero, Marketing Director of ASOEX. 

Additionally, participating in the panel discussion were Alejandro Garcia-Huidobro, President and Founder of Exportadora Prize; Víctor Maroto, Commercial Manager of Exportadora Fruttita; Marian Schmid, Director of Digitaria; and Jorge Valenzuela, President of Fedefruta.

The participants highlighted the importance of holding this webinar, as an opportunity for the Chilean cherry industry to unite and share information following one of the most challenging seasons in its history. 

The 2020-21 campaign was severely impacted by the alleged and unconfirmed case of a Covid-19 detection on imported cherry packaging in China, which was widely shared on social media in January, greatly affecting the market conditions just ahead of the key Chinese New Year sales period.

In that context, Caballero explained that the Cherry Committee of ASOEX responded immediately to the situation with an impressive and highly extensive marketing campaign, which was carried out across a range of mediums and included the collaboration of influential Chinese celebrities. 

Surveys showed the amazing benefit of these actions, helping to restore consumer confidence, improve market prices, and increase fruit movement in the market. Without these actions, the outcome of the season would undoubtedly have been much worse.

Vial also provided an in-depth and insightful presentation analyzing the reasons behind the strong growth of the Chilean cherry industry over the recent years, and the possible growth scenarios over the next decade.

Depending on factors such as the future rate of new cherry plantings and per-hectare yields, Vial said it is likely that by 2030 Chile will be exporting between 145 million and 200 million boxes of cherries, which would be around two to three times more than the 2020-21 season.

However, the panelists highlighted the importance of quality over quantity for ensuring future success for the industry. They also noted that deeper industry unity and collaboration will be paramount.

“Yentzen Group and the Cherry Committee of ASOEX are delighted to have been able to provide this fantastic and crucial webinar for the cherry industry. After challenging times, it was essential for everyone to come together to analyze the past and discuss how we can ensure a bright future for the entire industry,” Yentzen said.

“We would like to warmly thank all of our wonderful speakers, panelists and sponsors for making this highly successful webinar possible. We greatly look forward to meeting in person at the Global Cherry Summit in August.”

Stay tuned for more coverage from FreshFruitPortal.com of the topics discussed at the webinar in the coming days. 

If you would like to receive information about the in-person Global Cherry Summit to be held on August 17, 2021, including registrations, booths and sponsorship opportunities, please contact Natalia Castillo at ncastillo@yc.cl or write to events@yentzengroup.cl.