China Eastern Airlines has delivered the first-ever direct air shipments of Chilean cherries to China.
The first of two charter shipments, laden with 108 tonnes of Chilean cherries and blueberries, landed in Shanghai on Wednesday after a 26.5-hour journey from Santiago. The second direct shipment, slated to carry a similar volume, is due to land on Sunday (15 December).
Steven Fang of China Eastern Airlines, who travelled to Santiago to coordinate the new service, told Asiafruit that the first shipment was loaded with fruit from around eight Chilean exporters. Around 90 per cent of the cargo was made up of cherries, with blueberries accounting for the balance, he noted.
The second shipment, which is understood to have been loaded by just one exporter, Copefrut SA, is also slated to carry around 110 tonnes of cherries and blueberries.
Up until now, air shipments of Chilean cherries to China have always been transhipped via other airports, often leading to delays and damage to fruit. It can take as much as a week to 10 days for fruit to arrive, according to industry sources.
Andres Ruiz, market manager Asia at Copefrut SA, hailed the new service as a breakthrough for Chilean exporters.
“The direct flight means fruit is not subjected to any break in the cold chain and arrives in much better condition,” he told Asiafruit. “Because the quality is higher, it means the fruit will fetch a premium – especially in the run-up to Chinese New Year, when consumers are on the look out for extra special quality.”
Ruiz said that cherry market prices in China had dipped over the past week. But he put that down to the poor quality of recent arrivals following the disruption caused by strikes by public sector workers.
Despite the influx of air-flown fruit arriving in Shanghai, Ruiz sees no danger of it bringing the market down because it does not all need to be sold at once. “The fact that it has longer shelf life means distributors can afford to sit on it for a while until prices improve,” he said.
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