<p>In 2013, Chile's fruit export industry showed growth, according to the Office of Agricultural Studies and Policy (Odepa). Agriculture Minister Luis Mayol announced that the industry showed growth in spite of adverse conditions throughout the year.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The Minister highlighted the progress of 6.4% growth of fresh and dried fruit exports from the country. Several crops' exports increased: blueberries (18%), tangerines and clementines (11.6%), plums (10.3), apples (9.3%), pears (6.9%), grapes (5.4%) and oranges (1.6%). Fruit exports reached an estimated $4 billion. Also, nut exports from the country increased 23.7% to reach an estimated $341 million during the season.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The year began with severely lowered export volumes for the first two quarters due to bad weather, which affected several parts of the country. These adverse conditions were offset by good conditions during the harvest season of apples, kiwis, pears, plums and grapes.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"This significant increase occurred in conditions of low rate, high energy costs, drought in the regions of the north central area, shortage of labor and port strike in March , reflecting the level of maturity that today presents the Chilean fruit industry," said the Secretary of State.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">The Minister also explained that state plantations saw a favorable climate for dried fruit production last year, especially during harvest.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">"The big increase in exports of nuts in 2013 grew 24.6% in volume and touched 50,000 tonnes, due to the considerable expansion of plantations of walnuts and hazelnuts, a situation that seems to indicate a continuous increase of these species in the medium term," Mayol said.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">If this growth can be sustained during adverse conditions, what are the potentials for Chile's fruit export industry if circumstances are ideal?<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href="http://www.odepa.cl/noticia/exportaciones-de-fruta-aumentaron-un-54-en-2013-estrategia-cl/" target="_new"> Agricultural Studies and Policy (Odepa) </a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
