Season’s First Shipment of Chilean Cherries Lands in Shanghai

On the morning of Oct. 12, at approximately 6 a.m., the first air shipment of Chilean cherries for the 2024/25 season landed at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, marking the start of a new Chilean cherry season in China.

After clearing customs inspections, the cherries were transported via cold chain logistics and arrived at the Shanghai Huizhan Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market at around 1 p.m. on Oct. 14. This initial batch, from Chilean grower, packer and exporter Río King, featured the Cheery Crunch variety. The shipment consisted of 80 cartons, with fruit sizes ranging from J to XL, priced between 700 Chinese yuan ($98.32) and 1,000 yuan ($140.46) per carton. Although this volume is relatively small, it is mainly intended to supply supermarket channels and northern wholesale markets.

Deng Shuaishuai, director at Shanghai RiverKing Supply Chain Management Co. Ltd. (上海煜谦供应链管理有限公司), the importer of the first shipment, told Produce Report that the overall quality is quite satisfactory. The sugar content of the red cherries averages around 17%, while that of the darker ones reaches 21%.

It is worth noting that the introduction of early-season cherry varieties in recent years has allowed the arrival time of the first air shipment to consistently move up. This season’s first shipment arrived five days earlier than last year and a remarkable 18 days earlier than in 2022.

Deng explained that over the past two years, some Chilean cherry growers have cultivated varieties with lower chilling requirements and employed equipment that induces earlier dormancy in the trees. Once the trees have accumulated the necessary chilling hours, they flower and fruit earlier. The Cheery Crunch variety in the first shipment, bred by U.S. company IFG, is an ultra-early variety that requires fewer than 300 chilling hours and ripens 7–10 days earlier than Brooks cherries.

Earlier this month, the Chilean Cherry Committee of Frutas de Chile announced an upward revision of its forecast for this season’s cherry exports. It is estimated that Chile will export 59% more cherries in the 2024/25 season compared with the previous season, with total exports exceeding 130 million 5-kilogram cartons, equivalent to 657,935 metric tons.

Deng also expressed positive expectations for the Chinese market, noting that overall prices this year are expected to be slightly lower than in previous years. Furthermore, Chile has benefited from favorable weather conditions this year, leading to a significant improvement in cherry quality. As a result, he is quite optimistic about this year’s sales.

Regarding future shipments, which the entire market is closely watching, Deng noted that the total volume of early varieties is relatively low. The next shipment is expected to take a few more days to arrive. He anticipates that air shipments will start to increase after Nov. 10 and continue through mid-December.

Images: Shanghai RiverKing Supply Chain Management Co. Ltd.

This article was based on a Chinese article. Read the original article.