Cherry production and exports from Chile will increase this year, but growers there and in other Southern Hemisphere countries are facing new farm and market challenges, according to a new report from Rabobank.
The 10-page report, authored by analysts David Magaña, Gonzalo Salinas and Pia Piggott, is available through the Rabobank website.
Rabobank analysts say 2022 U.S. cherry imports are set to reach the highest volume in more than a decade, according to a summary of the report.
The report said U.S. fresh cherry imports increased 50% year over year through August, with imports from Chile through that date up 131% compared with the same time last year. Imports through August from Canada increased 8% compared with a year ago.
Northern Hemisphere cherry output reaches from late April to mid-September, the report said, while Southern Hemisphere cherry supply runs from mid-October to mid-February with exports from South Africa, Argentina, Chile, Australia, and New Zealand.
Because of a much shorter crop in the Northwest U.S., USDA figures show shipments of U.S. fresh cherries to the domestic market in 2022 were down 36% compared with the previous year. That left the door open for expanded imports in the U.S., the authors said.
In part helped by expansion of imports, the availability of fresh cherries in the U.S. has increased at an annual rate of about 3% over the past half decade to roughly 1.3 pounds per person per year, according to USDA numbers.
The market has more room for cherries, Rabobank said.
“According to our estimates, exports from Chile will continue to increase,” the authors said. “However, all cherry producers in the Southern Hemisphere will face similar challenges in the form of increasing competition, declining prices, and narrowing margins due to elevated production costs.”
Growers in Chile, Argentina and Australia are seeking to improve their efficiency by focusing on high-quality production and diversifying their destination markets, the report said.
