Unsettled spring weather in Chile has had an adverse effect on this year’s cherry crop.
Extreme variations in temperature and strong winds have meant some growers in Chillán may have lost up to half of their crops, the Santiago Times reported.
The biggest impact has been felt in Coihueco, San Carlos and Pinto, but especially in Chillán, where a lot of export produce is grown.
Most of Chile’s cherry exports, however, are grown further north where the climate has been more favourable.
Last season, Chile exported over 34,000 tonnes of cherries and initial estimates for the 2009/10 harvest were around 33,500 tonnes.
But Isabel Quiroz of I-Qonsulting, a Santiago fruit consultancy firm, said she expected that figure to be downgraded.
“We are going to have to look at these numbers again,” she said.
“We feel this year’s cherry export deal will be considerably less than what the original estimates suggested.”
