Chile's avocado output reduced by nearly 50% and its export ended ahead of schedule, loses competition to Peru. Chilean avocado production is expected to return to normal next season.
Due to the continuous drought and high temperature during the growing period, the output of Chilean avocado fell by 40-50% this season, which led to the soaring price of its domestic market and the early end of its export.
Cristian Soazo, commercial manager of Agricom, said that the purchase price from growers is as high as US$4.90 (about 31.68 yuan) per kilogram, while the domestic (Chile) retail price has reached US$6.50 (about 42.02 yuan) per kilogram in recent days. "This price marks the end of the export season. I think our export volume will be more than 50% lower than last year, "he said.
Soazo explained that Chile has been competing with Mexican and Peruvian avocados. "Our main competitor-Peru's large amount of avocados hit markets around the world, especially Europe. At the same time, Mexico exported a large amount of avocados to the United States at a low price, which eventually forced us to exit the market." Sales in other markets have also been affected by low price fruit in Mexico, especially in China and South Korea.
Soazo forecasts that exporters will suffer a major financial blow this quarter due to loss of revenue and the cost of unused materials, especially specialized packaging for supermarkets. Soazo also said there were early signs that yield would return to normal next season due to good flowering and fruit setting.