With the Chinese New Year approaching, concerns are emerging about the impact of falling prices in China, stating that “what we did not expect is that the prices of cherries that have already been sold in China have been obtained (…) 50% lower than what we had obtained the previous year. And that is serious.”
The Chilean cherry industry has seen great progress and benefits, especially thanks to the interest in this fruit in China. Within the Asian country, the Chilean cherry is highly appreciated both for its quality and for the cultural aspects of that place.
However, in recent days, warnings have started to emerge about an overproduction of cherries, which has led to a certain “flooding” of the Chinese market and, in this way, lowering prices.
All this is on the eve of the Chinese New Year, on January 29, when fruit consumption increases significantly and people even give each other cherries as a way of expressing happiness, affection and wishes for prosperity.
Chilean cherries destined for China
According to figures from ProChile, among non-copper non-lithium exports in 2024, cherries took first place with US$ 3,091 million, surpassing shipments of salmon and cellulose.
Of the majority of this product's exports, the vast majority goes to China (93%).
In this regard, the president of the National Agricultural Society (SNA), Antonio Walker, warned that this year it is expected that more than 115 million boxes of cherries will be exported, a larger volume that would consequently imply a drop in prices.
For this reason, he pointed out that the industry must unite, learn from lessons and seek to ensure that the fruit can reach other markets.
Price recovery
Now, in conversation with Radio Duna , Walker said that the cherry industry is important for Chile, since “it employs more than 350 thousand people, and has already planted more than 70 thousand hectares, with a very strong concentration in O'Higgins and Maule. 80% of the cherry is planted there, but we have from Ovalle to Chile Chico.”
“It is an industry that will also export more than US$ 2.5 billion. It is a very important percentage of the national fruit industry,” also highlighting the investment in technology within the sector.
In this context, concerns are being raised about the impact of the drop in prices in China, stating that “what we did not expect is that the prices of cherries that have already been sold in China have been obtained (…) 50% lower than what we had obtained the previous year. And that is serious.”
However, the agricultural leader said that the situation is still developing, given that there are still days left until the Chinese New Year, when prices are expected to rise.
However, "we are already seeing that it will not recover to the levels we had last year," he stressed on Radio Duna .
And as mentioned earlier, Walker called for waiting until the end of the season to see what lessons can be learned, along with seeing how the Chinese market reacted to the new shipments of cherries.
In this context, the president of the SNA added that they will meet with ProChile to look for ways to "conquer" new markets, such as the Middle East, North Africa, India and Southeast Asia; as well as strengthen relations with Europe, the United States and Latin America.
