Chile’s 2024 kiwifruit season is 7 to 10 days behind schedule. Despite the delay, the sector is projecting 130,500 metric tons in exports. That projection puts the sector on track to near its 2022 production level.

The Chilean Kiwi Committee said the late start won’t impact the fruit yield, but that the harvest had been delayed to increase the brix content.

2023 exports by region - Chilean Kiwi Committee

Chile mostly exports yellow and green varieties of kiwifruit. As of week 12, the country had reported 1,947 tons in exports, compared to 3,300 the previous year.

As for fruit sizing, producers are reporting more size 20 and 40 series fruits, compared to more balanced size 30 fruits from 2023.

Chile’s harvest is projected to end in the second half of May. Most shipments will go to India, the United States, Europe and Latin America.

Chile is the second-largest kiwifruit supplier, after New Zealand, to the United States with a 20% share of the market. As of January, the U.S. had imported 857,000 pounds of Chilean kiwi, down 50% from the previous year, according to USDA data.

Meanwhile, New Zealand volume had dropped 94% to 349,000 pounds. Zespri announced Thursday that it had sent its first kiwi shipments of the season from New Zealand to the United States.

From the Northern Hemisphere, Italy had dropped 13% year to date to 22.9 million pounds. Meanwhile, Greece was up 44% to 19 million pounds.

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