Alejandro García-Huidobro (Prize): "We need inclusive governance and market diversification to face the future"
During the recent Global Cherry Summit held in Chile, Alejandro García-Huidobro – founder and CEO of Prize, one of the country’s leading cherry exporters – called on the entire sector to work in synergy to effectively face the challenges of the 2025/26 season.
In an interview with the Frutas de Chile association, García-Huidobro emphasized that the future of Chile’s cherry industry depends on a shared strategy that includes all players in the supply chain, from growers to exporters.
“It is essential to focus on fruit varieties that generate less value. Success will depend on the industry's ability to present a united front: the decisions we make – which must be dynamic – will only be effective if supported by proper representation and concrete goals,” he said.
Looking ahead to the next season, García-Huidobro stressed the need to overcome individualistic dynamics in favor of collective action: “We are facing a real ‘prisoner’s dilemma’. If we cooperate on elements such as size standards or quality benchmarks, it will be a sacrifice for everyone, but it will put us in a much stronger position.”
For this reason, he advocates for a new governance structure for the Chilean Cherry Committee that fully includes producers as well as exporters: “Only in this way can we reach 100% of the sector and make truly effective and shared decisions.”
According to Prize's CEO, the 2025/26 season will feature more moderate growth compared to previous years. His company has in fact decided not to further expand the cherry-growing area, which today represents less than 15% of the production portfolio.
“We have no new orchards coming in, so our growth will follow the industry average, around 6%. Five years ago, we started a diversification strategy toward other countries, and today we can face the future with peace of mind and optimism.”
Despite the centrality of the Chinese market – which currently absorbs the bulk of Chilean exports – García-Huidobro believes that gradual diversification is both possible and necessary: “If we do a good job, we could reduce China’s share to 80% (about €75 million in estimated value) over the next five years. The issue is that growth has been too fast: the industry’s volumes have increased by 50%.”
This growth has highlighted logistical and quality weaknesses, but also untapped potential: “If we had maintained consistent quality and logistics standards with 80 million boxes exported (about 36 million kg), we would be talking about a success today. The positive side? The solutions are in our hands.”
Text and image source: fruitnet.com
05 Jan 2024
The study covers the growing seasons from 2011/12 until 2019/20 for the development of the model and 2020/21-2022/23 for its validation. The M1 model is based on an inverse modelling methodology, M2 and M3, on the other hand, are more physiologically grounded.
14 Jan 2026
Tart cherry juice is rich in antioxidants and bioactive compounds that help reduce inflammation, improve metabolic health, and influence gene expression. Recent studies highlight its potential in preventing cardiovascular and metabolic diseases.
07 Aug 2026
A study evaluates 92 entomopathogenic nematode strains against Drosophila suzukii. Steinernema carpocapsae NC116 shows high efficacy against larvae, while sublethal effects on adults open new opportunities for integrated pest management in cherry production.
07 Aug 2026
The 2026 Northwest U.S. cherry season enters its final phase with over 16 million boxes shipped. Volumes remain below the May forecast and Rainier cherries are sharply down, while flavor, size and quality stay high as dark sweet cherries support the final push in August.
