The President of the Chilean Association of Prune Processors and Exporters, Chileprunes, Pedro Pablo Díaz, has praised the public-private collaboration that has facilitated the entry of prunes into India, as well as ongoing efforts in China.
This is particularly important not only because China is the leading destination for Chilean prunes, with imports totaling 18,000 tons, but also due to the new requirements and guidelines from local authorities regarding ovens and drying systems, which have made traceability a key factor.
The President of Chileprunes said that the Chilean plum industry must "continue to bet on quality, quality, and more quality. That's what China demands, and China is the world's largest prune consumer, with a decades-long tradition of consuming this product, so they are perfectly familiar with its qualities. In 2024, we must continue to focus on this country, which will not disappoint us in terms of volume."
However, we should not neglect other traditional markets, such as Mexico, Germany, Poland and Italy, among others. Mexico was the second largest destination in 2023, with 7,000 tons. "It is a stable, loyal market with reasonable prices, but now the U.S. is gaining ground on the retail. Let's try not to fall behind in a market that we have been serving for decades," says Pedro Pablo Díaz.
"We should also not overlook Germany, a country in which we are experts, with decades of service and in which we face no competition. Poland is a serious market that offers reliability. The same can be said about Italy and Spain, which pay well for premium quality."
"Is the fruit always perfect? No. As an association, we are responsible for monitoring each of the plums that go through the processing lines. This season is looking challenging and we expect to deliver 70,000 tons to the markets," he says.
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Chileprunes
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