Chilean cherries set new record

In spite of exports reaching a historic high, 2014/15 will go down as one of the industry’s most challenging seasons

Cristián Tagle of the Chilean Cherry Committee

Chilean cherry exports reached 99,461 tonnes in 2014/15, rising by 45 per cent on last season and setting a new volume record for the industry. The increase came in spite of the losses caused by heavy rainfall at key stages of the season and was due mainly to new acreage and varieties coming into production.

Cristián Tagle, president of the Chilean Cherry Committee, said in spite of the record volume, 2014/15 had been one of the most challenging seasons the industry had ever experienced.

“In late November and mid-December we suffered excessive rains, which resulted in inconsistent quality for our main varieties, Bing and Lapins,” he told Fruitnet.

Asia was once again the principle export market, accounting for 83 per cent of the export volume. China absorbed 76 per cent of total shipments. Ten years ago, only 23 per cent of shipments went to East Asia. By contrast, the US accounted for just 9 per cent of the shipment total, down from 45 per cent a decade ago.

“Last season the Chinese market took 2,800 containers; this season that figure grew by 60 per cent to around 4,300 containers, which presented a huge challenge,” Tagle noted. “We used to be virtually alone in China, whereas now we have to compete with arrivals from Australia, New Zealand and Argentina.”

However, Tagle said there was still huge potential in the Chinese market: “We sell to specialist stores, wholesale markets and the supermarkets and we believe there are opportunities to grow all three.”

According to the CCC, high levels of investment are required in farms to protect next season’s crop from possible heavy spring rains.

“Other key challenges we face as an industry include improving the logistics for exports to Asia and diversifying our export markets in the region and opening new markets,” Tagle said.

He pointed to the recent success in gaining access to the Japanese market for cherries not requiring fumigation under the so-called Systems Approach.

Fruitnet.com Wednesday 25th March 2015

A Dollar and a Euro could soon be worth the same thing.

Well, won't be needing those anymore.

Photo Illustration by Sean Gallup/Getty Images

The euro crumbled below a new benchmark in early trading Tuesday, falling below $1.08 for the first time in 11 years, and just kept sliding all day. At 4:30 p.m. GMT (12:30 a.m. ET) it dropped to as low as low as $1.0709, down 1.32 percent.

Less than a week ago, it was above $1.10. And just 12 months ago, the euro reached an 18-month high against the dollar, at nearly $1.40. It has plunged 22.5 percent since then. Here's how it looks:

Investing.com/Business Insider

The rapid decline of the euro is raising questions about whether and when the two currencies might reach parity again, according to the FT. They have not been one for one since 2002.

Here's the FT:

"It's a risk that the market will move towards parity," says Jane Foley, senior FX strategist at Rabobank. "It's something which may happen during the course of the year."

As Divyang Shah, global strategist at IFR Markets, puts it: "The trend remains your friend on this one and we see a strong possibility for the unit to trade at parity this year."

Oxford Economics and Goldman Sachs had forecast that the euro would drop to parity against the dollar by the end of 2016, though that could happen a lot sooner at the speed at which the euro is weakening. Many forecasters started the year with a $1.15 forecast for the euro at the end of the 2015. Unless the euro strengthens considerably from now on, that's not looking like a very good projection.

Google Finance/Business Insider

Generally, the European Central Bank's new quantitative-easing program should tend to weaken the euro, and the Federal Reserve's likely rate hikes should strengthen the US currency: When investments made in dollars can get a better return through higher interest rates, demand for dollars goes up, and so the currency strengthens against others. 

And as far as pretty much anyone is concerned, in the next couple of years the ECB will keep monetary policy loose, while the Fed will be looking to raise rates steadily. That makes parity between the euro and dollar a real possibility.