According to figures from IQonsulting, due to logistics delays, about 4.000 containers of Chilean cherries did not enter China on time, which is affecting the marketing of this fruit in its main market. Approximately 30% of the volume of cherries is with problems and with poor returns, assured the president of the National Society of Agriculture (SNA), Cristián Allendes, according to reports The Mercury.

He added that the customs entry processes in China have also complicated the sales of cherries in that destination. «The fruit can take 15 days to leave customs, so that delays sales a lot and buyers have begun to lose interest because in addition to finding the fruit old, they began to find that it did not have a good flavor. The prices that were previously between US$4 and US$3 are going to be US$1, they are very strong figures that are going to fall," he assured.

Blueberries have also been affected. According to IQonsulting, about 50% of these loads have had problems due to the extension from 14 to 35 days in the time of arrival of the fruit to the destination markets. In fact, it is estimated that 10% of this fruit has been completely lost.

One of the main markets for this fruit is the United States, where - according to Allendes - there has also been pressure in the logistics chain [at the USEC] due to the diversion of European ships that were going to Russia and that have been redeployed due to the conflict with Ukraine. "In Philadelphia, four ships arrived per week before and today eight are arriving, so there is a lot of pressure on the fruit [unloading] because many other things are arriving to the US," he said.

As for table grapes, in week 11 (peak shipments) 6,5 million boxes were shipped, about 4% less than in the same period. In this regard, the president of the Federation of Fruit Producers (Fedefruta), Jorge Valenzuela, explained that "half [of the exports] is shipped, while 80% of the remaining half is in refrigerators and the cost of doing that "It's huge," he said.

He added that "the US market was good for table grapes, but with this issue we cannot send them and also there the drop [unloading] of fruit in the ports of arrival has been very slow," declared Valenzuela, who He added that it is no longer a business to export traditional apples, due to the high cost involved in sending them abroad.

Finally, the president of the Association of Fruit Exporters (Asoex), Ronald Bown, said that, although they have not yet quantified the impact of logistical problems on fruit exports, the effect could be "disastrous." "For some species such as table grapes and apples it may mean that prices do not pay the costs involved or, as in the case of blueberries, longer than normal travel times have affected the condition of the fruit that has reached the markets," he said.