Javier Plaza Aguirre, CEO of Frutexsa, is one of the Chilean executives who was in Vancouver, for a new version of the International Nut & Dried Fruit Council (INC) Congress.
A congress that has established itself as one of the most relevant in the nuts and dehydrated fruit industry in the world, both in terms of the number of attendees and the very high quality (decision makers) of them.
At this INC meeting, many operations are closed, especially in the case of walnuts, but with regard to prunes, their relevance in sales is shared with the Gulfood fair, which was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in February. “At Frutexsa, we closed quite a few operations there,” says the executive.
What was seen at the recent INC meeting, in terms of trends, is a rebound in world stocks, thanks to the best 2023 seasons that producers in California, France and Argentina had, after two very complex years that decreased the supply and prices skyrocketed. Now, prices are stabilizing (lowering) again, “still a reasonable price and a good business for the producer, who is obtaining adequate returns,” says Javier Plaza.
Another positive issue, he says, is the return of global consumers who had abandoned prunes due to their high price.
It was also a recurring theme at the INC Congress, the future impact that it may have on global production, the thousands of hectares of plum trees that are being planted in China, the technology invested, such as drying tunnels, always with the support of the government of that country. “Although most of it will go fresh, a smaller percentage will go to prunes. In this regard, I am neither optimistic nor pessimistic, simply attentive to this reality that is coming in global markets.”
Russia is more active than in previous years – from the beginning of the war with Ukraine until 2023 – although it is still expensive to get products to that country, moving with smaller volumes. Furthermore, the businessman points out, the Russians have Usbekistan very close, a new global competitor, at least in the smaller calibers. “The 16 thousand tons sent to Russia by the Chilean market, at least in the short term, will not be repeated.”
Frutexsa projects a good 2024. “We will have a total sale of 11 thousand tons of prunes, a figure very similar to last year, and where we maintain the qualities of our product, adds Javier Plaza Aguirre.
