EXPO Ciruelas Secas 2026 is coming up in March, and among the national speakers is Juan Pablo Sotomayor, technical manager at Frutexsa, probably one of the experts who knows more about the prune business in Chile and worldwide.
Under this umbrella, he gives us a preview of some figures and projections for the domestic and international prune markets:
As we know, Chile is the world’s leading producer and exporter of dried prunes. In 2025, total plum production in Chile was 114,000 MT, and according to Sotomayor, in 2026 there will be an increase in volume of around 4-5%.
And while Chile is on the rise in terms of production, Argentina is declining, and we already know that the August 2025 harvest in California and France was lower than in previous periods, he points out.
In fact, California saw a drop-in production from 75,000 MT to 65,000 MT, while France went from 40,000 MT in 2024 to 38,000 MT. In Argentina, where the D’Agen plum has grown and is always severely affected by climatic factors less than 15,000 MT are projected.
No official figures are available for China, which is known to have increased significantly the number of hectares planted.
Early season
Juan Pablo Sotomayor also points out that this season we are about five days ahead of schedule in terms of the ripening period for plums, which means that the harvest period will begin in the first week of February.
This early start is typical of almost all fresh Chilean fruit, and the D’Agen plum is no exception. For example, cherries and peaches have started harvesting earlier.
More details on the production analysis of the dried plum season in Chile and the rest of the world will be released on Wednesday, March 18, at the 13th Dried Plums Expo 2026.
Chileprunes, the Trade Association of Dried Plum Processors and Exporters of Chile, invites you to be part of a new in-person meeting that connects the entire sector chain.
