Customers shop for Chilean cherries at a supermarket in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province on December 31, 2018. Photo: IC

China will take up to 90 percent of Chile's total cherry exports during the fourth quarter, the Chilean Fresh Fruit Exporter Association said on Saturday as this quarter's first batch of seaborne cherries arrived in China, chinanews.com reported. 

This quarter's Chilean cherry exports are expected to reach a record high of 210,000 tons, compared with 180,000 tons in the previous quarter, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. According to Charif Christian Carvajal, the director of the Europe-Asia marketing department of the exporter association, almost 90 percent of all exports will be shipped to China. 

Growing cherry production in Chile coincides with the coming peak season for cherry consumption, and market participants hope that cherries shipped by sea will meet the growing demand of Chinese consumers during the Spring Festival.

"Chile is the only country that can export cherries in large quantities at this time of year," Hannah Sun, a representative from Shanghai Fengyi Imports and Exports Co, told the Global Times on Sunday.

"The demand for cherries is especially high right before the festival season, as many customers also give cherries as gifts," Sun said. 

China's cherry imports have jumped. According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs, imports of the fruit totaled 186,000 tons in 2018. The value was about $1.3 billion, up 183 percent year-on-year.

Given the expanding market in China, cherry importers are transporting cherries by sea in hopes that a plentiful supply of low-cost fruit will feed the growing appetite. 

"Shipping by sea costs less than half of the rate for air cargo," Sun said. "As demand increases, we will look to import even more from Chile."

Chile is among the biggest sources of imported cherries in China, along with the US, Australia and New Zealand. 

In July, China adjusted import requirements for Turkey, the world's largest cherry exporter, a move expected to boost China's cherry consumption. 

Global Times