Prunes: better crop prospects than last year
February 20, 2025 at 2:51 PM ,
Der AUDITOR
Promising yield prospects
A few days ago, Chilean plum growers began harvesting the fruit intended for dried fruit production. As Oscar Astorga, Managing Director of Superfruit, told Chileprunes, the positive expectations for this year's crop have largely been confirmed thanks to favourable weather conditions. Although no outstanding results are expected for the 2025 crop, the prospects are satisfactory compared to last year. The sugar content in the fruit is sufficient and it is expected that 3.2-3.3 kg of fresh plums will be enough to produce one kilogram of prunes this year, compared to 3.9-4.0 kg last year. This increase in yield is an important factor for growers. Astorga reckons that the prunes will reach an average size of 70/75, while individual plantations should even produce predominantly 65/70 prunes. If there are no unexpected complications, Chilean prune production could reach 65,000-70,000 mt this year.
EU imports up by 10.6%
In 2024, 36,023 mt of prunes worth EUR 124.236 million were imported into the EU from third countries, meaning that the import volume fell by 14.9% compared to the same period last year, while the import value fell by 23.3%.
It was not only shipments from Chile (-10.1% 20,436 mt) that declined last year; imports from countries such as the USA (-13.6% to 4,249 mt), Argentina (-6.4% to 3,467 mt) and Moldova (-12.3% to 3,209 mt) also fell significantly during this period. The main importers in the EU were Spain (-16.9% to 5,520 mt), Germany (-16.0% to 5,340 mt) and Italy (+23.5% to 5,260 mt).
|
EU prune imports, in mt |
|||
|
Supplier |
2023 |
2024 |
Diff. |
|
Chile |
22,740 |
20,436 |
-10.1% |
|
USA |
4,918 |
4,249 |
-13.6% |
|
Argentina |
3,703 |
3,467 |
-6.4% |
|
Moldova |
3,661 |
3,209 |
-12.3% |
|
Serbia |
3,054 |
2,282 |
-25.3% |
|
Others |
4,235 |
2,380 |
-43.8% |
|
Total |
42,311 |
36,023 |
-14.9% |
|
DG AGRI TAXUD Customs Surveillance System, Jan-Dec 08132000 Dried prunes |
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