Chile's first seaborne cherry shipment sails to China on the Cherry Express service

By Macarena Bravo | Lee esta noticia en Español

FreshFruitPortal.com went to the San Antonio Internacional Terminal (STI, for its initials in Spanish) in Chile’s V region for the inauguration of this year’s Cherry Express service, marking the start of the 2025-2026 Chilean cherry export season.

Today, the STI, a Hanseatic Global Terminals and SSA Marine port, operates four Cherry Express direct routes to Asia, taking Chilean cherries directly to China in 21 days.

“Our offer of direct services demonstrates that we are the main departure point for Chilean cherries bound for Asia,” said STI General Manager, Andrés Albertini. “This demands that we continue to enhance the industry's competitiveness and reinforce our commitment to providing continuous, efficient, and safe operation for exporters.” 

At the event, the Executive Director of the Chilean Fruit Cherries Committee, Claudia Soler, commented on the strategic nature of this season's start.

"Every cherry season is a large-scale logistical challenge. Coordination among the different actors is key to maintaining the sector's competitiveness and continuing to position Chile as a leader in fruit exports,” she noted.

Chilean cherries, a cherished commodity in China

Cherries have been Chile's main export fruit for several years now, and a symbol of the Latin American country in markets like China.

Along with Cherry Express shipments, this season, the Cherry Committee launched an unprecedented strategy to sustain cherry demand in the Asian Giant year-round.

In this regard, Soler noted that the focus has been on combating fake news and reinforcing consumer confidence through education on attributes such as safety, the role of modified atmosphere, and nutritional benefits.

The executive told FreshFruitPortal.com that another angle of the campaign aligns with the filming of a new documentary by Chinese media outlet CCTV, which will premiere upon the arrival of the first Cherry Express in Asia.

“This material will show the entire production process, from harvest to final consumer, and will be available on digital platforms and points of sale,” she noted.

San Antonio Internacional Terminal's role during cherry season 

Logistically, the STI will play a decisive role this season. The port will anticipate contingencies and optimize operations by dedicating over 3,000 connection points for refrigerated cherry containers, as well as digitalized systems, reinforced protocols, automation, AI tools, and telemetry.

STI General Manager, Andrés Albertini, noted that last year, 12,500 containers of cherries were exported from the port via the Cherry Express service. 

“This year we will have 32 direct Cherry Express calls to Asia,” he said. “This is extraordinary, never seen before.”

Cherry Express vessels transport nearly 90 percent of cherries traveling by sea.

Confidence from China

China’s ambassador to Chile, Niu Qingbao, also in attendance at the event, congratulated the sector and assured the market’s stability in the coming years, thanks to growing GDP and the rising average income in the Asian Giant. 

“You can be sure of an expanding Chinese market. The appetite for high-quality products from Chile will be even greater,” he said during his address.

Qingbao explained that hundreds of millions of Chinese families consider Chilean cherries the perfect gift during the Chinese New Year season, a tradition that, according to the diplomat, will continue “for a very, very long time.”

“China has its best supplier and friend in Chile,” he said. 

The Chilean cherry industry is beginning to write a new chapter, hoping to overcome the hurdles of the last season, when a record 625,000 tons of questionable-quality fruit were shipped to Asia, leading to a considerable drop in international prices. 

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