Chilean apple volumes to the UK are down year on year, some estimate by as much as 20 per cent.
One importer told freshingo: “Our volumes are down because the Chileans are shipping more to the US and continental Europe as a result of exchange rate factors. But their crops are lower this year; they have less Gala coming through. We are just seeing the first Braeburn and growers tell us there are no big volumes of the variety to come.”
Gala production in the South American country has been affected this year by unseasonably high temperatures in the last weeks of fruit development, just before harvest. One source said: “This has affected fruit pressures and also coloration so, in general, volumes are down. We are having to be very picky about the fruit we send.”
The reason for lower volumes of Braeburn is that some growers are grubbing up their trees. Some areas of the country are less suitable than others for the cultivar, which thrives in slightly cooler growing conditions. The result is that Chile finds itself in the midst of a shift, with growers in central and northern regions taking out their trees while those in the south are putting in new plantings of Braeburn.
One importer said: “There is the added factor that Braeburn is really only in demand in the UK and German markets. The US will only take limited volumes of larger sizes. Growers therefore feel it is better for them to grow Gala, which is better suited to their conditions and also has more market outlets.”
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