Favorable weather and abundant rainfall should lead to bigger exports of Chilean grapes this year, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report.
Chilean table grape exports to all destinations are expected to reach 620,000 metric tons in 2020-21, a 1.6% increase compared with the previous year, according to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service report. The U.S. takes nearly half (46%) of Chile’s table grape exports, followed in importance by China.
“Rainfall was abundant, especially in the month of June and climatic conditions during the spring have been favorable, thus fruit producers are expecting higher production volumes,”the report said.
Chilean fresh apple exports will total 655,000 metric tons, a 3.9% increase compared with last season, according to the report, while pear exports are projected to decline by 4.3% to 111,000 metric tons because of a decline in pear planted area.
Chilean fruit exporters have implemented safety protocols to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, according to the USDA.
“Exporters are adapting all labor requirements to maintain physical distance among workers to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus as this will be a major challenge considering production volumes increased compared (with last season),” the USDA said.
Grape expectations
Area planted to table grapes in Chile dropped by 4.9% in the 2020-21 season, according to the report, and now totals about 113,000 acres.
Even so, the report said Chilean grape production will remain unchanged from last season and total 780,00 metric tons.
The largest drops in table grape planted area were 11.8% in the Atacama region and 14.1% in the Metropolitana region, the report said.
“Table grape production and exports has become very competitive due to the increase in production and exports from Peru, and demand for new varieties of table grapes in destination markets.”
Varieties like red globe and flame seedless have low margins, and growers have replaced acreage of those varieties with newer grape varieties or alternative crops, according to the report.
