Chile’s grape growers are coming out of one of their toughest grape seasons for years, and the outlook for producers and exporters of some other lines is little better.
Rodrigo Echeverría, president of growers’ federation Fedefruta, told FPJ: “We have had a season that has been very strongly characterised by the weakness of the dollar - when we were planning the campaign this time last year it was at peso520 to the dollar, and at one point in March at the peak of the grape season it fell to peso430.”
The weather has not helped the Chileans either, with rainfall in the southern-hemisphere summer taking its toll on grapes. “We are starting to see a pattern being repeated with summer rainfalls in some areas affecting quality and effectively leading to lower exports from those regions in March,” Echeverría said.
The sector has also been battling increased costs for transport and labour, the latter of which is felt particularly in grapes. “Now as we look forward and start planning for next season, the dollar has gained some ground against the peso and is back up to peso516, but it will be hard to recuperate increased costs on labour and transport,” he said.
Echeverría also suggested that growers are looking carefully at the future and the viability of the crops they grow. “It is tempting for other growers to look at crops that are getting good returns and there is that tendency,” he told FPJ. “But it is important to remember that growers have invested heavily in their fruit crops and unless there orchards are coming up for renewal they are unlikely to be thinking about crops such as wheat, for example. They are thinking about profitability over the next few years, but I don’t think many will abandon their production so easily.”
The growers’ leader also believes that producers in Chile have much to gain from evolving food priorities. “We are in a period when the emphasis on eating healthily is growing and that can only help fruit production in Chile,” said Echeverría. “The outlook is not bad, we are just at a point where circumstances are difficult in the wider marketplace and we need to be thinking in terms of re-structuring and re-energising.”
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