Prunes: Chile's crop is developing well
December 5, 2024 at 4:47 PM ,
Der AUDITOR
Preparations are in full swing
A few weeks ago, the Chilean agricultural sector entered the phase in which fruit sets form and fruit pods are filled in, and so far the experts at Chileprunes are confident about the upcoming prune production. In Chile, the D'Agen plum variety is mainly used to produce dried fruit.
Unlike in 2023, there were enough cold hours in the winter months this year to allow the trees to rest and regenerate. However, there were no severe frosts in spring and the rainfall rate was satisfactory. Only in September were there occasional heavy rain showers in the main growing regions, which may have affected yields somewhat.
According to experts, the picture in the orchards is more uniform than last year. The trees have a high potential to produce a high-yielding plum crop of good quality. The Brix content of the fruit in the coming harvest is also expected to be significantly higher than last year, although a high number of fruits in individual regions could influence this value. As a result, various plantations had to be thinned out even further despite the overall lower yields in order to guarantee good development of the plums. Furthermore, market players are mainly expecting prunes in the 70/80 size, and planning for the drying period is already in full swing. Although this does not start until February, growers and processors want to be able to offer the highest possible quality in 2025.
Italy increases prune imports
Since the beginning of this year (1 January - 13 December 2024), the EU has imported a total of 33,058 mt of prunes worth EUR 114.19 million from third countries, meaning that the import volume has fallen by 16.9% year-on-year and the import value has even fallen by 25 .6%. This is due, among other things, to significantly lower shipments from the main growing countries such as Chile (-13.4% to 18,609 mt) and the USA (-16.0% to 4,080 mt). In addition, EU imports from other countries of origin such as Argentina (-0.8% to 3,299 mt), Moldova (-9.3% to 3,033 mt) and Serbia (-29.4% to 2,021 mt) also declined.
Accordingly, the main buyer countries have reduced their imports noticeably, shipments to Spain fell by 12.2% to 5,320 mt, and Germany and Poland also lowered their imports by 26.0% to 4,530 mt and by 38.8% to 3,530 respectively mt. In contrast, there was a noticeable increase of 18.8% to 4,730 mt in imports to Italy.
|
EU prune imports, in mt |
|||
|
Supplier |
2023 |
2024 |
Diff. |
|
Chile |
21,498 |
18,609 |
-13.4% |
|
USA |
4,860 |
4,080 |
-16.0% |
|
Argentina |
3,324 |
3,299 |
-0.8% |
|
Moldova |
3,343 |
3,033 |
-9.3% |
|
Serbia |
2,863 |
2,021 |
-29.4% |
|
Others |
3,911 |
2,016 |
-48.5% |
|
Total |
39,799 |
33,058 |
-16.9% |
|
DG AGRI TAXUD Customs Surveillance System, 01/01-03/12 08132000 Dried prunes |
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