If there is one thing that characterizes the global fruit industry, it's the constant change and dynamism of the factors that alter its operation in unforeseen ways.

This fact, already well known by those who are part of this market, valued at 572.56 billion dollars in 2022, generates resilience and a unique response capacity.

Beyond the climatic and logistical challenges of 2024, it was also a year of growth, changes, and milestones that will mark the destiny of fruit companies, producers, and exporters worldwide.

In January, Unifrutti, a global producer and distributor of fresh fruit, announced the acquisition of 100% of the Chilean company Verfrut. This made Unifrutti one of the leading fruit companies in Chile and consolidated its portfolio of grapes, cherries, apples, and blueberries.

“This day marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Unifrutti, as we integrate Verfrut's expertise and extensive operations in Chile and Peru into our global platform,” the company commented on its LinkedIn account.

Another company that expanded its global presence was Sun World International. The U.S.-based company acquired Biogold Group, a South African company dedicated to managing fruit variety rights worldwide and operating as Citrogold in the African country.

Biogold, with a presence in South Africa, the United States, Europe, and South America, has growers in all major citrus-growing regions worldwide. This has enabled Sun World to expand its citrus and subtropical portfolio.

Agroberries, another Chilean firm, made waves in the berry industry after acquiring BerryWorld Group Holdings Limited in September, the largest trader of berries in Europe, creating the second-largest berry company globally.

Agroberries currently has plantations in different parts of the world: Chile, Peru, Mexico, the United States, and Morocco.

Towards the end of the year, another berry giant, Agrovision, decided to expand its presence in the cherry industry by launching Agrovision Chile. This move was driven by the acquisition of Chilean grower and exporter ZurGroup.

The Steve Magami-led company reported that it will introduce proprietary premium cherry varieties, developed to offer superior flavor, freshness, and crunch, to the planned 500 new hectares of cherry orchards.

Systems Approach approved after more than two decades

Continuing with Chile, the South American country's table grape industry has had reason to celebrate this 2024. After more than 20 years of work, Chile achieved the implementation of the Systems Approach for the export of table grapes from the regions of Atacama, Coquimbo, and part of Valparaiso to the U.S. market in June.

“This is very relevant. After cherries, table grapes are the country's main fruit export with more than one billion dollars and where almost half go to the United States entering without methyl bromide, without fumigation, according to different projections, is going to increase the value between 40 to 45%,” said Esteban Valenzuela, Chile's Minister of Agriculture.

Under this protocol, an estimated 50,000 tons of Chilean table grapes are expected to be shipped to the United States in the first season after implementation, which is ongoing.

“For the second consecutive season, we expect table grape shipments to the world to continue to grow. This growth once again positions us as an industry with a great quality and variety of grapes,” said the executive director of the Table Grape Committee, Ignacio Caballero.

However, despite the joy this brings to the Chilean industry, several table grape grower organizations in California filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The lawsuit claims that the authorization illegally abandons time-tested traditional safety measures and exposes U.S. grape growers to significant risks and costs, including those related to invasive pests.

Port strike in the United States

The country's supply chain, a significant destination for Latin American fruit, has been under pressure since late September, when the International Longshoremen's Association (ILA) went on strike on October 1.

The ILA went on strike after failing to agree with the country's Maritime Alliance (USMX) on a wage increase for workers and to prevent the automation of activities.

The strike ended three days later at the East and Gulf Coast ports after the parties agreed to a 62% wage increase over six years for ILA workers. However, those involved are still negotiating a long-term agreement, which means the ILA could call another strike in January if they do not reach a new agreement.

East Coast and Gulf Coast ports handle more than half of U.S. imports, so a second strike could have devastating economic consequences.

Trump's election and tariff plans

The election of Donald Trump as U.S. president for the 2025-2029 term is shaping up to be one of the changes discussed in 2025.

The president-elect has already proposed a 60% tariff on products from China and a 20% tariff on everything else imported by the United States.

Additionally, Trump has made public his intention to deport all illegal workers, a plan that will affect the fresh produce industry as the workforce depends -largely- on foreign workers, many of whom work irregularly.

Port of Chancay

Another event of great relevance to the fruit industry took place in Peru: the inauguration of the Port of Chancay. This multipurpose port terminal promises to change the region's commercial landscape.

This will be a key maritime point for trade between South America and Asia, mainly China (port of Shanghai), because it will become a regional hub that redistributes cargo from Peru, Chile, Ecuador and Colombia. The first shipments of fruit have already been made from the port.

Legal issues

Legal issues, always a protagonist in this industry, were also present this year in large companies.

Such was the case for Chiquita, as the banana giant was sued for allegedly financing Colombian paramilitary organizations. In June, a Florida federal court awarded 38.8 million dollars to eight of the nine victims of paramilitary groups financed by Chiquita in Colombia.

Meanwhile, in the United States, after months of trying to merge, Kroger and Albertsons supermarkets put an end to their plans in December. Albertsons Companies, Inc. announced it would officially terminate its pending $25 billion merger agreement with Kroger.

Strikes and port work stoppages in Latin America

It has not all been smooth sailing for the Peruvian industry in 2024. In June, authorities faced a strike by workers at Peru's National Agricultural Health Service (SENASA). The workers in Arequipa and other regions reported that the strike was due to a non-compliance in the salary increase. This situation in their opinion has been pending for 14 years.

Despite the stoppage, SENASA reported that it had taken all measures to ensure the continuity of services through the 25 Executive Directorates and its document processing and customer service offices located nationwide.

Earlier in April, the Chilean Port Union and the Port Workers Front of the Center also began a strike, citing the state's lack of capacity and seriousness in resolving and implementing the agreements reached with port workers on issues such as safety, unemployment, a National Port Policy, and the General Ports Law.

On the other hand, in September, a truckers' strike in Colombia put the country's fruit industry on alert. The mobilization began because representatives of the truckers and other transporters expressed dissatisfaction with the diesel price increase. A week later, an agreement that contemplated a staggered fuel increase in two stages, half of which had been initially announced was reached.

Genetics

Also in September, the well-known Chilean nursery Viveros Requínoa, which represented some of the best varieties of cherries, apples, pears, nectarines, plums,, and peaches in the world, lost the licenses of varieties from two important Californian breeders, BQ Genetics LP and Glen Bradford's estate, and Zaiger's Inc. Genetics, except some varieties from the latter program.

The new legal representative of the licensee for Chile is John Warmerdam, a California stone fruit grower, who, along with his family, has been growing the genetics developed by the Bradford and Zaiger families for years.

The change came about because Warmerdam, together with the breeders, began to “hear” what was happening in Chile. For example, access to the varieties was quite limited, and royalties were high. However, the breeders' returns had not increased in line with the industry's growth.

Looking ahead to 2025

This new year presents several challenges and opportunities to explore further.

Regarding logistics, the Red Sea conflict shows no signs of an early exit, so the industry will have to continue dealing with forced detours and longer transport times.

A new strike in the ports of the eastern United States that could break out as of January 15 raises concerns about the possibility of jeopardizing Latin American fruit imports in the middle of the season.

And the possibility of tariffs by President-elect Donald Trump keeps the industry on alert, hoping that the President will act in a way that benefits industry members.