Chilean citrus exports in the 2023 season increased 48% over the previous season, and 16% over the average of the last three seasons, the Chilean Citrus Committee reported. A total of 395,889 tons have been exported, of which 15.5% were clementines, 43.7% mandarins, 23.7% oranges and 17.1% lemons.
U.S. IS TOP MARKET
The United States was the main destination market, receiving 88.2% of the citrus shipped from Chile. The remaining volume was exported to the Far East (5.9%), Latin America (2.8%), Europe (1.8%), Canada (0.9%), Russia (0.3%) and the Middle East (0.01%).
“The U.S. is our main market, and it is going well,” said Juan Enrique Ortuzar, president of the Chilean Citrus Committee. “The Asian market and countries like Japan and Korea are very important for lemons. Japan is an important market, but it is not growing.”
VARIETY BREAKDOWN
The volume of clementine exports was 47% more than the previous season, reaching 61,490 tons. Shipments of clementines this season are 14% higher compared to the last three seasons.
Mandarin shipments reached 172,825 tons, which is 94% higher than in 2022 and 52% higher compared to the average of the last three seasons.
Orange shipments were 17% higher than last season, reaching 93,948 tons of exports.
Lemon exports increased 20% to a total of 67,627 tons.
“The season closed well. It was a season that finally ended up giving several positive surprises in terms of export volume,” Ortuzar said. “In clementines, the export volume recovered very strongly. In mandarins, we almost doubled the total exports of last year. In lemons, we recovered somewhat. And in oranges, we also finished well.”
The Chilean Citrus Committee is an entity that belongs to the Chilean Fresh Fruit Exporters Association. Its members are the main exporters of citrus fruit in the country, representing 75% of the Chilean citrus fruit exporters.
Source: Chilean Fresh Fruit Exporters Association