Driven by Chinese demand, fresh cherries have become Chile’s second most exported product after copper, as well as the leading product in the agri-food sector.
Approximately 93% of cherry exports are destined for China, Chile’s Minister of Agriculture Ignacia Fernández emphasized during the launch ceremony of the 2025–2026 cherry export season, held on November 18, 2025, at the port of San Antonio.
On December 5, the first “Cherry Express” vessel of the season docked at Nansha Port, in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, carrying around 370 containers of fresh Chilean cherries, officially marking the start of the 2025–2026 Chilean cherry season in the Asian country.
On the first day of 2026, consumers in northern China also welcomed their first maritime shipment of Chilean cherries: more than 300 containers and approximately 6,600 tonnes of fresh cherries arrived at the port of Tianjin via another exclusive direct route dedicated to this fruit.
The great success of Chilean cherries in China is due to multiple factors, and trade exchanges continue to generate benefits for the peoples of both countries, while also helping to reshape the paradigm of global cooperation in the agri-food sector.
Chile was the first Latin American country to sign a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) with China. In 2025, the 20th anniversary of the signing of the bilateral FTA was celebrated, marking a qualitative leap in economic and trade relations between the two countries.
Over the past 20 years, trade volume between China and Chile has increased more than eightfold, with an average annual growth rate of 11.2%. China has been Chile’s main trading partner for 15 consecutive years, its top export destination, and its largest source of imports.
The bilateral FTA paved the way for Chilean cherries to enter the Chinese market. In 2008, Chilean cherries were officially granted zero-tariff access to China.
With the signing of the protocol to modernize the China–Chile FTA in 2017, the share of products subject to zero tariffs reached approximately 98%.
Iván Marambio, president of the Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX), stated that the growth potential of the Chinese market has boosted confidence within the sector, encouraging an increasing number of growers to expand planted areas, while Chinese consumers are able to enjoy sweet Chilean fruit during winter at reasonable prices.
The consolidation of Chilean cherries in the Chinese market is largely due to the ingenious “seasonal offset”.
The Chinese cherry harvest season is concentrated between May and June, while the Chilean season runs from November to February of the following year, with a gap of about six months.
This red fruit from the Southern Hemisphere not only avoids competition with domestic production, but also fits perfectly into the winter fruit consumption gap in China and the strong demand associated with the Chinese New Year.
According to ASOEX estimates, during the 2025–2026 season (from October 2025 to February 2026), approximately 650 million kilograms of Chilean cherries will be shipped to China, representing a 6% year-on-year increase and accounting for more than 90% of total exports of this product.
Cherries are delicate fruits prone to damage; for this reason, in 2018 Chile activated a direct maritime route, the “Cherry Express”, reducing transit time from 30 to 23 days.
This year, Chile increased the number of special direct maritime transport services for cherries to China to 32, doubling the number compared to the previous year.
In Chile, Route 5, a north–south transport artery built by a Chinese company, is affectionately known by locals as the “cherry highway”.
The opening of this road has significantly accelerated the transport of fresh cherries to cold storage facilities.
At Chinese ports, customs clearance procedures are also highly optimized.
Dongjiang Customs in Tianjin has introduced an innovative “person–container” supervision model, allowing document declaration and verification before the vessel docks, enabling immediate inspection and release upon arrival.
The efficiency of customs clearance presses the “accelerator” on market entry.
The cherry shipment that arrived on January 1 at the port of Tianjin reached the main wholesale markets in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region in just five hours.
With improvements in supply chain efficiency, the trend toward greater price accessibility for cherries is becoming increasingly evident.
Data from the JD.com platform show that during the 2025–2026 season, thanks to the direct-from-origin procurement model, the pre-sale price of cherries dropped to as low as 33.8 yuan per kilogram (approximately €4.30).
The wholesale price of ultra-large 4J cherries fell from 400 yuan/kg (around €50.70/kg) in 2020 to 60–80 yuan/kg (€7.60–10.10/kg) in 2025.
The decline in prices has expanded the consumer base, transforming Chilean cherries from a “Chinese New Year luxury gift” into a “fruit for everyday consumption”.
According to Claudia Soler, Executive Director of the ASOEX Cherry Committee, cherries are not only popular in China’s first-tier cities, but their consumption is also growing in second- and third-tier cities.
The goal is to bring Chilean cherries to every city in China and allow every consumer to taste them.
To meet the growing demand of the Chinese market, the association and companies are working together to offer products with different specifications, packaging formats, and sizes based on the consumption preferences of various regions, ensuring high adaptability of cherries across all consumption levels.
Cherry trade not only satisfies the palates of Chinese consumers, but also provides a strong boost to Chile’s economic development.
Industry data indicate that the cherry industry generates around 200,000 jobs per year in Chile, accounting for one third of total employment in the national fruit industry.
Driven by demand from the Chinese market, Chile’s cherry industry has experienced vigorous growth, becoming the crop with the largest planted area in the country and a key economic pillar.
The area planted with cherry trees in Chile increased from 3,241 hectares in 2000 to 67,570 hectares in 2023.
Niu Qingbao, China’s Ambassador to Chile, noted that China–Chile cooperation has gone beyond traditional trade, expanding into broader fields:
“Chinese companies actively participate in the development of clean energy, transport infrastructure, healthcare, the digital economy and other sectors in Chile, showing a positive trend in bilateral investment in both scale and quality,” Niu stated.
Pizarro Arcos
Descubriendo China
Source: www.descubriendochina.org
Image source: Descubriendo China
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