2022/23 Southern Hemisphere Cherry Season Outlook: Chile, Argentina and Australia

 

Chile

 

The low temperatures, rainy, frosty winter and warm spring resulted in good yields and quality of Chilean cherries in 2022/23
.
Chilean cherry exports will increase by another 25% this season to 447,000 tonnes (about 90 million 5kg boxes),
according to the Chilean Sweet Cherry Commission.
This is due to the successful marketing of Chilean cherries in China, which has sparked a cherry craze in Chile, and every year about 5,000-6,000 hectares of plantations switch from low-profit fruits to cherries, resulting in an expansion
of cherry cultivation area.

 

According to Rabobank analyst Salinas, the proportion of newly planted cherry trees in Chile entering the fruiting period this season and the next three seasons is still high, and production is expected to continue to rise
.
Constraints such as labor shortages and logistical disruptions caused by the pandemic will disappear in the first post-pandemic quarter
.
However, the capacity of cherry packing plants cannot keep up with the increasing output year by year, and the delay of sorting lines and packaging processes will become a bottleneck
restricting cherry exports.
In addition, China's coronavirus control measures are another uncertain factor affecting cherry exports, and Chilean cherry exports will also be affected
if port cities are closed due to the outbreak.

 

Cherries have become one of the best choices for Chinese consumers as gifts for the Spring Festival, while other countries in the northern hemisphere still regard cherries as summer fruits, so China is the largest importer of cherries in the southern
hemisphere.
Over the past 10 years, Chilean sweet cherry exports to China have increased sevenfold
.

 

On January 22, 2023, Chilean cherries, which began harvesting in mid-October, will experience the shortest Spring Festival sales period
since mass exports to China began in 2015.
Salinas said that the first batch of Chilean cherries sold to China by air from late October to early December was small and of high quality and less affected; Cherries exported by sea to China between early December and before the Spring Festival typically account for 90% of Chile's cherry sales in China, and the need to sell in less than 50 days this season will put pressure
on prices.
As a result, all parts of the Chilean cherry industry are striving to improve efficiency, with the aim of packing as many cherries as possible for shipment to China
in early December.

 

Australia

 

Australian cherry production has remained at 15,000 tonnes over the past few years, with exports ranging from 4,000 to 5,000 tonnes
.
Since 2018, 450,000 new cherry trees have entered the fruit-producing period, and the industry is still growing, but the La Niña weather event, which has lasted for three years, has had an impact
on cherry production and quality.
Unusual rainfall caused by La Niña has had a particularly severe impact on the main cherry-producing regions of eastern Australia, such as Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania
.
Cherry production is expected to continue to be affected
this season, with Australian cherry production down 15% year-on-year and exports down 20% year-on-year in the 2021/22 season.
99% of Australian cherries are exported by air, and poor logistics and soaring freight rates have also contributed to the decline in exports, with Australian cherry exports to China falling 68%
last season.

 

Argentina

 

Argentina is the second largest cherry exporter in the Southern Hemisphere, exporting 5,433 tonnes
of cherries in the 2021/22 season.
Unlike Chile, where 90% of its cherries are sold to China, Argentina has a more even distribution of destinations – North America (35%), Asia (35%), Europe (21%), the Middle East (8%)
.
The growth in Argentina's sweet cherry exports was mainly driven by efficiency improvements and industrial consolidation, rather than a significant increase in planted area, and its growth is expected to be limited
in the medium term.