Shipments set to reach 139,000 tonnes for the 2024 season
Chile’s Kiwifruit Committee has revised its forecast for the 2024 harvest upward to 139,000 tonnes.
“Our latest review shows a production volume 7 per cent higher than the preliminary estimate of 130,000 tonnes given in March. This is due to the positive effect of delayed start to the season, which allowed the fruit to gain more weight and increase in size,” said Carlos Cruzat, the committee’s president.
The 2024 season began 12 days later than usual, as also happened with other fruit crops in Chile.
Cruzat noted that “all kiwifruit producing areas showed increases in volume compared to what was expected, except for the northern area of the O’Higgins region, which showed a drop in production”.
Regarding exports for the current season, Cruzat said the accumulated shipments as of week 23 stood at 77,023 tonnes. He said the US, European and Latin American markets had been very active. However, Asian markets have been less active compared to the previous season, with a significant drop seen in exports to China.
“We have now finished the conventional kiwifruit harvest and are now exporting stored fruit,” Cruzat said, adding that around 50 per cent of the crop has been shipped so far.
“In the future we expect to increase exports above 139,000 tonnes, due to new plantations coming into commercial production in 2025,” Cruzat said.
