(Photo courtesy Chilean Fresh Fruit Association)
The Chilean Fresh Fruit Association launched its “summer fruit in winter” campaign in North America about two decades ago, and the program still is going strong.
The strategy is evolving, however, as the association switches from TV to digital campaigns, competition from other growing areas increases, and growers strive to enhance fruit quality and expand varietal development to meet changing consumer tastes.
There’s no doubt that Chilean fruit fills an important niche, said David Magaña, vice president and senior analyst for the Fresno, Calif., location of Rabobank.
“Consumers nowadays want fresh, quality fruits year-round,” Magaña said. “That has created demand for counter-seasonal imports.”
Traditionally, most of those imports have come from Chile. The country shipped 92.3 million boxes of fruit to the U.S. during the 2018-19 season, said Karen Brux, managing director of the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association.
“In winter, Chile has an abundant supply of cherries, blueberries, grapes and stone fruit, so we promote ‘A Taste of Summer. Fresh from Chile,’” Brux said.
Grapes rank No. 1
Table grapes are Chile’s No. 1 fruit export, but blueberries are the fastest growing. Blueberry exports are expected to reach 115,000 tons during the 2019-20 season, a 4% increase compared to the previous season, Brux said.
But even as the volume of Chilean exports increases, the growth rate is faster from Peru and Mexico, Magaña said.
“(Chile) is losing market share, but that doesn’t mean in any way that they are exporting less,” he said.
For example, Chile’s share of blueberry shipments has been up and down, but overall shipments for the past decade have grown 80%.
Peru has become a bigger competitor in table grapes, especially in late November and December, since Peru’s early varieties start before Chile’s.
Meanwhile, all of the nectarines and peaches sold in the U.S. during the winter come from Chile, Magaña said. But he added that those are not growth items.
Apples account for only a tiny portion of Chile’s exports, but Magaña said some U.S. companies are investing in Chilean apple crops in order to provide freshly harvested, counter-seasonal apples like Honeycrisp from March to August.
Adjusting as needed
Chilean growers constantly are fine-tuning their programs to appeal to U.S. consumers.
Chilean Blueberry Committee members have decided not to export a number of older varieties with insufficient shelf life, Brux said.
And table grape producers are looking for new varieties to match a developing trend in the U.S., where growers are looking for new, often proprietary varieties in lieu of the old standbys, said Craig Padover, stone fruit and pomegranate category manager and account manager for Jac Vandenberg Inc., Yonkers, N.Y.
Going forward, consumers will see fewer of the old flame seedless grapes from Chile, but there will be more proprietary varieties, he said.
Padover said he’s a fan of the Chilean crimson variety.
Jac Vandenberg also has a big peach, plum and nectarine deal with significant volume shipping in late December. But sky-high air freight rates at that time make the fruit cost prohibitive for some retailers, Padover said.
As with grapes, Chilean growers continue to look at new varieties and flavor profiles for stone fruit.
Padover is pleased with the Regal’in nectarines from Chile. They were developed in France and have good flavor and shipping characteristics, he said.
Lemon plums from Chile arrive yellow, turn pink, then turn full red, he said. Padover described them as having “wonderful eating characteristics.”
The company planned to import Chilean cherries by air around the middle of November, Padover said. Cherries should be available from vessels in December.
Brux said the Chilean cherry forecast for 2019-20 is nearly 42 million boxes – a 16.1% increase over last year. However, most of the cherries are destined for Chinese markets, with limited volumes available in the U.S., primarily in December and January, she said.
Dealing with drought
Drought conditions in Chile, which have some growers trucking in water, likely will result in smaller-than-normal sizing for grapes and stone fruit and reduced volumes this season, said Eric Coty, executive director for South America for Vancouver, British Columbia-based The Oppenheimer Group.
Oppy ships Chilean apples and pears from March to October, blueberries from November until March or April, cherries from November to February, and grapes and stone fruit from December to April.
The company has seen sharp increases in grapes, cherries and blueberries, he said.
Shoppers seem to be catching on to the idea that “summer fruits” now are available year-round, said Josh Rector, produce category manager for Harps Food Stores Inc., a chain of 91 stores based in Springdale, Ark.
“They no longer think there’s no summer fruit in winter,” Rector said.
Harps works with the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association to promote Chilean fruit like grapes, blueberries, peaches, nectarines, plums and citrus.
Stores often build large displays of Chilean fruit where several commodities are merchandised together and called out with point-of-sale materials.
“We make a big attraction out of it,” Rector said.
Harps also promotes Chilean fruit in its ads, which tie in with the display, he said.
Rector said he sees very little fall-off in sales as he transitions from domestic to Chilean fruit, especially with grapes and blueberries.