Chile’s cherry industry is facing an unprecedented crisis due to oversupply and logistical delays

Hundreds of containers of Chilean cherries are trapped at sea

The Chilean fruit industry is facing a serious crisis due to the delay in the arrival of the Saltoro ship, which transports 1,300 containers of cherries to China. What should have been an export milestone has turned into a critical situation, with tons of fruit adrift at sea and the latent risk of millions in losses for producers.

The delay in the arrival of the Saltoro, originally scheduled for January 20 but now expected for February 6, has generated great uncertainty in the industry. This setback coincides with the approach of the Chinese New Year, a key date for the marketing of cherries in the Asian giant that will be celebrated on January 29 this year. The delay jeopardizes the quality of the product and its competitiveness in a saturated market, where prices have already fallen by 50% compared to last year.

This year, Chile has exported an unprecedented volume of cherries, sending 122 million boxes to different markets. 91.83% of this volume was sent to China.

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