Last weekend, heavy rains were recorded in Chile, which affected cherry producing areas such as Curicó and the metropolitan region. These downpours could result in the loss of 30% of the production in the Seventh Region (Curicó and surroundings) and approximately 20% in the Sixth Region (Metropolitan Area). The problem would primarily affect the early varieties, such as the Royal Dawn and Brooks.
Losses with or without rain protection
Rodrigo Sánchez, of Agrícola Lo Garces, one of the leading producers of cherries in the area, spoke about the situation. "The rains started on Saturday and lasted until Sunday morning. The Seventh Region is the one with the most severe losses, because it rained up to 50ml, and in the Sixth Region they had 20ml. The consequence is that all early varieties are affected to some degree, as cherries are damaged causing the fruit to burst. Even though most crops are protected from rain, losses could not be avoided."
The forecast for the coming few weeks is that no more rains of such intensity are expected. But if to the current situation we add the impact of the frost recorded a couple of months ago, which caused great damage, the supply will definitely be lower than expected, while demand should remain stable. This imbalance in the market may have a positive impact on prices, which will likely be higher than last year, mainly in the Far East, which is the main market for early varieties. Of the total exports, these damaged varieties account for about 15%.
The varieties arriving later, which account for a much greater share of the exports, would not be affected. "We'll start harvesting in about 15 days and we'll continue until mid-January. Despite the lower supply, the fruit quality will not be affected. Fortunately, the current technology is efficient enough to remove the damaged fruit from the packaging lines, so that the packed cherries will have the same quality as usual," stresses Rodrigo.
Andres Ruiz, Marketing Manager at Copefruit S.A. reported on social media that rain and hail fell again yesterday afternoon. "Every year there is some damage which affects the potential harvest."
