Chile opens citrus exports to US
- Chile formally opened its 2026 citrus export season to the United States with an inspection-site launch in Coquimbo led by Frutas de Chile and regulators. - Chile expects to export about 444,000 tons of citrus this season, up 11%, with mandarins up 32%, clementines 25%, and lemons 6%. - The U.S. remains Chile’s main citrus market as output rises after drought relief. (freshfruitportal.com)
Chile has officially started shipping its 2026 citrus crop to the United States, opening the season with a launch at the SAG-USDA inspection site in Coquimbo. (freshfruitportal.com) The event brought together Chile’s Agriculture and Livestock Service, the United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Frutas de Chile and the Chilean Citrus Committee. (freshfruitportal.com) Frutas de Chile said the industry’s first estimate for the 2026 season is about 444,000 tons of citrus exports, an 11% increase from the prior season. Mandarins are forecast to rise 32%, clementines 25%, and lemons 6%. (freshfruitportal.com) (freshplaza.com) The United States is the core destination. In 2024, Chile shipped 98% of its clementine exports, 95% of its mandarins, 93% of its navel oranges and 63% of its lemons to the U.S. market. (producemarketguide.com) That concentration reflects how Chile fits the U.S. calendar: it supplies citrus during the Northern Hemisphere off-season, when domestic volumes are lower and imported fruit fills shelves. (freshfruitportal.com) (citrusindustry.net) Weather is part of the story this year. Industry reports said winter chill and abundant rainfall helped fruit set and replenished reservoirs in Coquimbo after several drought years. (freshplaza.com) (producemarketguide.com) The broader fresh-produce trade is expanding too. A separate U.S. Department of Agriculture-backed report said organic fresh blueberry exports rose 54% in 2025 to a record 13.4 million pounds. (freshfruitportal.com) (internationalblueberry.org) That same blueberry report said the United States imported a record 719.8 million pounds of fresh blueberries in 2025, with Peru supplying 406 million pounds, or 56% of the total. (internationalblueberry.org) (freshfruitportal.com) For Chilean citrus exporters, the next test is execution: inspection capacity, shipping schedules and U.S. demand now have to absorb a larger crop moving north over the coming months. (freshfruitportal.com)
