The Chilean nut sector’s first export estimate was recently revised up, as shipments are set to reach over 170,000 tons. This would represent a 6% increase from the initial projections.

Chilenut President Juan Esteban Rodriguez tells FreshFruitPortal.com that, despite the growth achieved in the Indian market, the industry continues to deal with historically low prices due to quality issues.

"2023 was a bad year in terms of price, I would say that the slow European market was one of the blackest points of the season. Obviously, we emphasize the positive growth in India, which allowed us to finish the year with a bonded stock of practically zero," Rodriguez says.

There is little volume left to be shipped, Rodriguez indicates, with only programs committed for shipment between January, February remaining. 

“Basically, these are very low volumes, which are normally completed between January, February, and March in Latin America," he adds.

The executive projects that by the end of the season, which is projected for March 21, the volume exported will be a little higher than 170,000 tons.

“I think we will be close to 175,000 tons," he says.

Markets

Despite challenging growing conditions and production growth in China and the U.S., Chilean growers have enjoyed an explosive rise in production volumes in the last seven years, increasing exports by 258%.  

Particularly, the Indian market has one of the fastest-growing consumer populations in the world, and Chilean walnut growers are well aware of the opportunities it can provide.

"We grew a lot in India last year. It should be noted that we went from 27,000 to more than 50,000 tons, where 27% of our overall production went to that market," Rodriguez says.

He emphasizes that Chilean walnuts can continue to grow, "so India is a market that we have to take care of and secure with good quality, since they demand quality and pay a premium price for good walnuts. So it is a market to continue working on".

In addition, he indicates that the sector will continue to work with other food associations to try to get the government to move forward in reducing tariffs. 

"Today we have a tariff of 100% and what we need is that the government finally supports us and hopefully this year we will be able to sign a free trade agreement or the extension of the current agreement. With these tariffs, it is a stumbling block and a super big barrier to growth," Rodriguez explains.