The General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) added Chilean peaches and apricots to the list of fruits permitted to be exported to China.

In November, inspectors from the GACC Department of Animal and Plant Quarantine visited Chilean producing regions to conduct technical inspections of the orchards and packaging facilities that had applied to export peaches or apricots to China. According to the list released by the GACC, the initial batch of enterprises granted export codes includes 109 peach orchards and 39 packaging facilities, along with 15 apricot orchards and 27 packaging facilities.

According to data from the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture’s Office of Agricultural Studies and Planning, Chile’s peach cultivation area in 2022 totaled 4,574 acres hectares, with 53% concentrated in the O’Higgins region and 20% in the Valparaíso region. Meanwhile, the apricot cultivation was  1,305 acres, with 39% in the Valparaíso region and 32% in the Metropolitan region.

In 2022, Chile exported approximately 270,000 metric tons of stone fruit, with half of this destined for the Chinese market. 

Among the total export volume, 59% were plums 31% were nectarines, peaches totaled 10%, and apricots just 0.38%. The main export destinations were China (134,000 metric tons, 50%), and the United States (52,000 metric tons, 19%).

Before Chilean peaches and apricots were granted access to the Chinese market, the primary stone fruit items exported to China were nectarines and sugar plums. 

A recent news report by Simfruit indicates that Chile will export peaches and apricots to China starting this season, leading to expectations of a further increase in the export volume of fresh Chilean stone fruit to the Chinese market.