Chilean table grape growers, represented by industry body Frutas de Chile’s Table Grape Committee, have adjusted their season’s projection for the current campaign. The new estimate is only two percent lower than previous figures, forecasting shipments of 62.2 million 18-pound boxes.
This new projection represents an 8.4 percent drop compared to the previous season, when 67.9 million boxes were exported.
The new projection also increased the market share of new varieties by six percent, now representing 72 percent of total production. This number was welcomed by the sector, as it’s the consolidation of modernization efforts years in the making. White grapes continue to lead varietal growth, especially cultivars such as Autumncrisp and Sweet Globe, which continue to grow in Chile’s main table grape markets.
The country’s latest season projection takes into account data from 67 companies, representing 86 percent of total exports during the 2024/25 campaign.
According to the executive, the update mainly responds to climatic conditions and changing dynamics in the country's different productive regions.
“This decrease is explained by lower-than-expected volumes in the north, added to varietal replacement that, although accelerated, does not fully offset the decrease in traditional varieties,” said Chile’s Table Grape Committee Executive Director, Ignacio Caballero
The executive added that, so far, the season is recording an accumulated drop of 22 percent compared to the previous year. However, he expects this gap to narrow week by week as larger volumes from the central zone, particularly from Metropolitan and O’Higgins regions, enter packing houses.
The new projection also shows changes regarding the category’s export markets and their respective shares within the industry’s portfolio.
Compared to the previous estimate, Latin America is the only growing market, rising 15.6 percent in volume and 6 percent in market share.
In contrast, Asia shows a 13 percent drop, and Europe a 7.2 percent decrease. Meanwhile, updated volumes to North America, the main destination for Chilean table grapes, show a 2.4 percent decline, which adds up to the already notorious 12 percent drop shown in previous projections.
Finally, the committee warned that shipping schedules have been affected by delayed production in the central zone and losses in the north, implying more concentrated logistics toward the end of the 2025-26 season.
*All images are referential
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