Chilean Grape Variety Turnover, Exports Expected To Fall 7.7% This Season

The Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX) Fresh Grapes Committee has released its second assessment for the 2022/23 season, according to the ASOEX website. Total exports are expected to be 68.6 million boxes (8.2kg/box), a 7.7% decrease compared to the 2021/22 season.

At the beginning of October, in its first assessment, the Fresh Grapes Commission had forecast a 4.9% year-on-year reduction in exports. In response, ASOEX president Iván Marambio explained that although the second assessment had been revised downwards by 2.8% from the first, the latest assessment showed an increase in exports of new varieties. This is not only in comparison to the previous assessment, but also in relation to shipments of traditional varieties and Red Globe, indicating that the industry is undergoing a change of varieties, which explains the drop in total shipments.

In terms of varieties, exports of new varieties are expected to exceed 36.74 million cases, followed by 20.37 million cases of traditional varieties and 11.49 million cases of Red Globe. In terms of grape appearance, the number of white grapes has increased and will reach 24.01 million cases, with varieties mainly Thompson Seedless and Sugraone; red grapes are expected to be 26.63 million cases, with new varieties supplied including Crimson Seedless, Flame Seedless and Perlon; black varieties reach 6.47 million cases , with new varieties including Autumn Royal and Black Seedless.

Compared to the previous season, exports of Chilean fresh grapes are expected to fall in all export destinations, with the US down 1%, Asia down 9% and Europe down 27%, according to the Fresh Grape Commission.

The United States will continue to be the main export destination for Chilean fresh grapes, with an estimated volume of 38.62 million cases. This will be followed by 14.8 million cases exported from Asia and 9.12 million cases from Europe, with the remaining 6.06 million cases to be exported to other markets.

A total of four assessments of fresh grape export volumes will be made by the Fresh Grape Commission this season, with the next two assessments taking place at the end of November and December respectively, and export volumes will be assessed on the basis of weather conditions, logistics freight rates, the labour situation and global logistics conditions.