Most of the companies associated to Chileprunes had a rich and successful experience some weeks ago in SIAL, Paris 2024 the most important agri-food sector event that can only be compared to ANUGA (Germany) which takes place in odd years.
In general, the Chilean industry arrived well advanced in its annual sale and with little to offer; for this reason, it was a very good instance to talk with customers about how the year has been, to create new connections for the future, to ask how they see the season peak – that in the case of Europe is this coming Christmas -and their expectations for 2025.
Juan Tomás Quezada, Agricola Siemel general manager, concurs that the Chilean delegation had an excellent participation, specially regarding prunes. Hall 8 was a key meeting point for dry and dehydrated fruits with Chile, INC (International Nut Council) and representatives from USA and Turkey. The location was strategic and the most relevant Chilean prune brands were well represented which made a very good overall impression.
Pedro Monti, Silvestres general manager, says that in this SIAL version the level of the visits were very professional, “which allowed us to connect with potential customers establishing many meetings with companies from Africa, the Middle East and Asia. It was a great opportunity for dried fruits companies from Chile, especially for prunes and raisins because there is shortage in the market and was a good opportunity for business”.
Regarding the particular case of Silvestres “it allowed us to sell almost 100% of our prune stock which is very good and we could establish relationships with companies from sub sectors as fruit pulp and other sweet products”.
On the other hand, José Antonio Soffia, Superfruit sales manager highlights “that this year we have a very good feeling because all the dried fruit industry was in the same hall which was very functional and helped customers to avoid losing time moving from hall to hall. It made very easy to talk to the different actors from the industry”.
Even more, he says, they got in touch with potential customers from Asia and the Middle East “with countries we did not have in the radar and we saw a great interest in working with us”.
He adds that this trip has allowed to get an idea of how the markets are and have a feeling of what next year is going to be “. In our case, for the prunes, we have seen that what generally happens is that the consumption during the year is very even/low and it reaches its peak from October to December for Christmas, which is happening”.
Marcelo Lacunza, Prunesco commercial manager, rated positively the participation of Chile in SIAL, highlighting the strong presence of European and Asian customers who mainly went to assess the performance of the year, a recurrent dynamics in this event.
He added that many of the key actors of the industry were at the fair, which made easier the consolidation of relationships with regular customers and the exploration or new opportunities.
Lacunza emphasized that Chile showed a solid offer represented by the main companies in the dried fruit and prune sector and highlighted that even traditional buyers from other origins like United States were interested in the harvest in Chile and the available volumes which from year to year consolidate Chile as a relevant actor in the prune global market.
A novelty this year has been the big interest in organic products, a segment getting more visible in SIAL and where Prunesco has a competitive advantage given its specialized supplier category, he says.
José Tomás Quezada adds that in comparison with previous years, the fair returned to the level of activity that we had seen before COVID, with more people, active customers and an environment focused in making business.
For Agrícola Siemel, going to the fair had a double objective: on one side, reconnect with previous customers, as well as strengthen relationships with importers, especially in countries like Poland where the activity was little and, on the other side, to take advantage of the opportunity to meet with its service customers, review advances and project the next steps.
Looking at the international market, I would highlight that in the northern hemisphere, the US is starting its season trusting in its domestic demand while France, that calculated a higher harvest, now projects 30,000 tons instead of 40,000 which ensures stable prices.
Regarding 2025 it is too soon to project, but we anticipate a positive beginning for the year with active demand and customers interested in buying, he says.
Regarding next year, Pedro Monti adds that it should be a year with healthy demand, stock levels in the world are not high. “We have to watch closely what happens in China regarding the results of its dehydrated production from their domestic harvest which for sure will impact its demand”.
