The high fruit export season at Terminal Pacífico Sur Valparaíso (TPS) culminated with a 7% increase in shipments made in refrigerated containers, with 856,937 net tons, surpassing the record of the previous period, which reached 799,039 net tons. In terms of the number of containers, the 2023-2024 season closed with 8% more refrigerated containers than in the 2022-2023 period.
By type of product, the largest volume mobilized in the last season was again grapes, which amounted to around 327,000 net tons; followed by nectarines and cherries, with 187,569 and 185,562 net tons, respectively. Other products that increased their transfer, although with smaller volumes, were apricots, peaches and avocados, which totaled nearly 53,000 net tons.
Raúl Guzmán, commercial manager of TPS, commented: “The high fruit season in our Terminal, which lasted between November 2023 and April 2024, was marked by a significant increase in volumes moved in container ships; since although we registered a smaller number of ships than in the previous season, they transported more units per trip, which certainly puts the entire port system to the test so that we can apply all the experience that we have developed over the years to provide a good service to national exporters.”
In fact, the current season registered 128 container ships served by TPS that transported refrigerated containers with fresh fruit, which is 19 ships less than the previous period; but the greater capacity of the ships and the coordinated work of all the actors in the logistics chain recorded peaks of between 1,100 and 2,000 containers per ship.
Regarding the destinations of containerized fruit, Asia was once again the majority market, with around half of the export fruit shipments that left through TPS, concentrating 398,082 tons; while shipments to the United States increased the most compared to the previous season: shipments to the East Coast of the United States grew by 71%, going from 107,550 tons to 184,190 net tons; while shipments to the West Coast increased 49%, rising from 34,096 tons to 50,791 tons.
By adding all the fruit moved by TPS with its multiple destinations and formats, the 2023-2024 season ended for the concessionaire with 916,805 net tons transferred.
