Chilean Cherries and Salmon Drive Record Exports with China Cargo Airlines

The concessionaire of the Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport (SCL), which serves Santiago, celebrated the tenth anniversary of China Cargo Airlines, a cargo subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines, at the South American airport, in the context of shipping 74 tons of cherries to China.

Ads

The company highlighted that during this period, it transported over 50,000 tons of cargo, including products such as cherries, blueberries, plums, salmon, and wine, valued at more than USD 1 billion, mainly transported between Chile and China. In the opposite direction, the company ships retail e-commerce products, metallurgy goods, among others.

China Cargo Airlines operates weekly flights between Shanghai/Pudong (PVG) and Santiago (SCL) using Boeing 777 Freighters, with a capacity of 102 tons, with stops in Los Angeles (LAX), Campinas/Viracopos (VCP), and/or Anchorage (ANC).

During the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Forum, held in Lima, officials from Chile and China emphasized bilateral cooperation between the two countries, pledging to expand it with more open industrial and free trade policies.

“In particular, Chilean cherries have become a well-known name in China thanks to the efforts of China Eastern Airlines and its partners. Over 90% of Chile’s cherries are sold to China each year, with a large portion of them airlifted to the Chinese market through us,” said the President of China Eastern Air Holding Company Limited and China Eastern Airlines, Wang Zhiqing.

Ads

Record cargo season for China Cargo Airlines in Chile

According to various authorities and trade organizations, the 2024-2025 cherry export season to China is expected to break records, with a projected nearly 50% increase in shipments of this product. During the 2023-2024 season, approximately USD 2.2 billion worth of cherries were shipped to China, according to ProChile with data from the National Customs Service.

In addition to cherries, this commemorative flight carried a shipment of salmon, a product that China Eastern Cold Chain began exporting in 2017. According to figures from the Chinese company, more than 5,500 tons of Chilean salmon have been exported, valued at over USD 48 million.

Total salmon and trout exports to China reached USD 311 million in 2023, a 65% increase compared to 2022, according to ProChile with figures from the National Customs Service.