In a public-private effort to strengthen the international positioning of the Chilean prune, a certification that guarantees that the product has been cultivated under standards that combine quality with sustainability has been launched.
So it was revealed in detail in EXPO Ciruelas Secas 2025 (EXPO Prunes) by Chileprunes’ executive director, Pedro Acuña who opened the event with his presentation “The sustainable way in the prune industry”.
This initiative is framed within the program Chile Origen Consciente and (Chile Conscientious Origin) developed by Chileprunes with the Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación Agrícola, IICA, (Interamerican Institute for Agricultural Cooperation) and the Agencia de Sustentabilidad y Cambio Climático, ASCC, (Agency for Sustainability and Climate Change) and Odepa.
The executive presented the advances of this project highlighting that the target is to differentiate the Chilean plum in the international markets through a seal that certifies that it was produced under sustainable quality standards.
“We export to more than 80 markets and we must adapt to an increasingly demanding environment in terms of sustainability. This certification is a key tool to show our commitment and add value to our fruit”, said the executive director of Chileprunes.
The path towards the certification started in 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, with the articulation of work teams and strategic alliances. Then in 2022 and 2023 progress was made with the creation of a sustainability standard validating key actors and establishing an Acuerdo de Producción Limpia (Clean Production Agreement). In 2024 the structure of the project was consolidated and in 2025 the standard implementation started.
This has been a highly participative process, involving more than 600 actors of the industry including producers, processors and exporters. A governance was established with executive and technical committees to define a robust standard that addresses environmental, economic and social aspects.
This quality sustainability standard has two levels: Certification for processing plants, already available for interested companies, and Certification for Farms which will be available in the second half of 2025.
The program has digital tools, artificial intelligence and trainings to support the producers in the certification process. Chile Origen Consciente and (Chile Conscientious Origin) seeks, through this seal, to give international visibility to the Chilean prune as a sustainable and different product in the global markets.
For more information the companies can visit the web site www.ciruelacertificada.cl and start their certification process.
The invitation is extended to those who have not yet joined the initiative.
