Orange production in Chile is projected to increase by 2.2% and total 190,000 metric tons (MT) in 2024–25, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) report. The projected production increase is based on expected high yields and a 1.4% growth in area planted to 7,300 hectares.
ACREAGE EXPANSION
The area planted with oranges in Chile has grown significantly since 2021–22 due to expansion in the main production regions of O’Higgins and Metropolitana. Those regions, in the central part of the country, hold more than 70% of the orange acreage in Chile. Area planted in the Metropolitana and the O’Higgins regions increased in the past marketing years by 14% and 20.3%.
Orange production complements the country’s lemon and mandarin production by expanding the harvest season, which helps maintain operations and export flow.
The Coquimbo and Valparaíso regions hold nearly 30% of the area planted. In those two regions, due to drought, area planted with oranges has gradually decreased as producers shifted to lemons because of their higher profitability.
INCREASE IN TRADE
USDA FAS estimates Chilean orange exports will increase by 3% percent and total 103,000 MT in 2024–25.
In Chile, the orange marketing year starts in April with the beginning of the harvest. The bulk of Chilean orange exports is between July and September each year and peaks around August.
The top market for Chilean oranges is the United States. In 2023–24, orange exports to the United States reached 91,349 MT, which represented 95% of the country’s export volume. Chile exports oranges to various other countries including Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Brazil.
In 2023–24, through September, Chile imported 632 MT of oranges, a 70.8% increase from 2022–23. This big percentage increase corresponds to a normalization in imports; 2022–23 was a year of low import volumes. The United States was the top supplier of oranges, with 99% market share. The peak import season is during the Chilean summer, between December and May.
See prior reports on Chile’s expected mandarin and lemon production in 2024–25.
Source: USDA/FAS
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