Chilean clementine and mandarin volumes are reduced due to water scarcity

The scarcity of water in the main clementine producing region of Chile, the Ovalle-Vicuña area (Coquimbo Region), is causing a 30% reduction in volumes for this 2024 campaign. "Even producers who have plantations with water are having difficulties, which raise doubts about the results in quality and sizes," says Gonzalo Aguirre, CEO of WHM Fresh in Chile. Matías González, CEO of WHM Fresh, checking the fruit upon arrival in the Netherlands before delivering it to customers. "The lack of water in critical crop periods has reduced the potential of the Ovalle-Vicuña area, causing many fields to have problems with exportable production, and those that currently have water are uncertain as to whether they will obtain a quality product for the export. In this line, the estimated volume of clementines will show a decrease of 30% compared to last year. 70% of clementines are produced in the Coquimbo Region, where some fields have not been able to export their production, either due to ...