Exports of Chilean fresh fruits rose by 7.2 per cent during the 2010/11 (September to August) season, according to the Chilean Fruit Exports Association (Asoex).
Sendings increased to 2.64m tonnes, compared with 2.46m during the previous season, with table grapes once again ranking as the leading fruit export item, as volume grew 6.7 per cent to 852,591 tonnes.
Cherry exports, meanwhile, rose by an impressive 73.2 per cent in 2010/11, according to Asoex, while blueberry shipments climbed 39.6 per cent and plum sendings by 36.8 per cent.
Asoex chairman Ronald Bown said that the principal cause for the export growth was down to growth across almost all fruit categories, despite contractions in avocados and lemons which fell by 36.1 per cent and 8.6 per cent respectively.
Apples remained the second-largest fruit export item last season, accounting for 32 per cent of the sendings with a volume growth of 6.2 per cent against 2009/10.
Kiwifruit was in third position, representing 7 per cent of the national fruit export total, Asoex said.
Market-wise, the US and Canada received slightly less volume than the previous season, as arrivals fell by 2.8 per cent, according to the organisation.
Meanwhile, Europe’s share of Chile’s fruit exports rose marginally by 0.6 per cent.
In contrast, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East recorded significant increases in arrivals from Chile of 28.4 per cent, 26.3 per cent and 10 per cent respectively.
Asoex said Russia also recorded a 7.3 per cent upturn in business, absorbing some 110,241 tonnes of fruit.
