A report showing a 10 per cent fall in Chilean fruit exports to the US during 2007/08 has failed to dampen the enthusiasm of US importers as their look ahead to the new season.
The annual analysis by Santiago-based fresh-fruit consultancy Decofrut said the drop in the value of the US dollar had encouraged shippers to send their fruit to other countries with a more robust currency. Continental Europe, for example, saw shipments jump by 9.5 per cent, while exports to the UK rose by 4 per cent.
But some importers put the fall in US shipments down to adverse weather and insisted the currency was not to blame.
Speaking to The Packer, Craig Uchizono, vice president of Southern Hemisphere for Giumarra Cos., said: “The decrease that they have experienced is because of Mother Nature. They had a major freeze last year and it hurt the avocado deal. There were a lot of variables that were not controlled by man but by nature.”
With the dollar rallying in recent weeks, analysts said the economic outlook in the US has improved for Chilean exporters.
“International currency dynamics are much more favourable for shipping to North America this season, and that’s great news for us and for our growers,” said Gerry Smirniotis, vice president for the East Coast and stonefruit category director for the Vancouver, British Columbia-based Oppenheimer Group.
The company said 2008/09 was shaping up to be a positive season for Chilean stonefruit and grapes and that no major delays were expected to the deal.
“We are…anticipating a good season for Chilean grapes, in terms of quality, volume and timing – unlike last year, when the entire industry weathered a delay of nearly a month,” Mr Smirniotis The Packer.
