While Chile's copper might capture headlines, its agricultural output—from a record-breaking harvest of 180,000 tons of blueberries to salmon exports worth $5.6 billion—fuels a dynamic and delicious food industry worth billions.
Key Takeaways
- In 2022, Chile's total agricultural production value reached approximately USD 12.5 billion, with fruits contributing 45% of the total
- Chile produced 1.8 million tons of grapes in the 2021/2022 season, marking a 5% increase from the previous year
- In 2023, blueberry production in Chile hit a record 180,000 tons during the 2022/2023 season, up 12% year-over-year
- In 2022, Chile exported fresh cherries valued at USD 1.2 billion, with 80% to China
- Blueberry exports reached 147,000 tons worth USD 1.1 billion in 2022/2023
- Salmon exports totaled USD 5.6 billion in 2022, with 48% to the USA
- In 2022, Chile imported USD 2.1 billion in agricultural products, mainly wheat and soy
- Wheat imports totaled 5.5 million tons valued at USD 1.5 billion in 2022
- Soybean imports reached 2.8 million tons for USD 1.2 billion in 2022, for animal feed
- Per capita food consumption in Chile was 1,200 kg in 2022, including processed products
- Annual per capita meat consumption averaged 120 kg in 2022, with poultry at 50 kg
- Milk consumption per capita reached 170 liters in 2022
- The food industry employed 200,000 direct workers in 2022, representing 2% of national employment
- Agricultural sector jobs totaled 800,000 in 2022, with fruits 40%
- Salmon industry employed 60,000 people in 2022 across 25 regions
Chile's thriving food industry is a major global fruit and seafood exporter.
Domestic Consumption
- Per capita food consumption in Chile was 1,200 kg in 2022, including processed products
- Annual per capita meat consumption averaged 120 kg in 2022, with poultry at 50 kg
- Milk consumption per capita reached 170 liters in 2022
- Bread and bakery products consumption totaled 80 kg per capita in 2022
- Fruit consumption per capita was 100 kg fresh equivalent in 2022
- Vegetable intake averaged 85 kg per capita in 2022, below WHO recommendations
- Sugar consumption reached 40 kg per capita in 2022
- Fish and seafood consumption per capita was 25 kg in 2022
- Wine consumption averaged 15 liters per capita in 2022
- Beer consumption was 45 liters per capita in 2022
- Soft drink consumption reached 120 liters per capita in 2022
- Processed food market size was USD 20 billion in 2022, growing 5%
- Poultry consumption grew 3% to 1.05 million tons total in 2022
- Beef domestic use was 200,000 tons in 2022
- Pork consumption totaled 500,000 tons in 2022
- Egg consumption per capita was 240 units in 2022
- Edible oil consumption reached 25 kg per capita in 2022
- Rice consumption averaged 8 kg per capita in 2022
- Pasta consumption was 12 kg per capita in 2022
- Yogurt market consumption grew to 15 kg per capita in 2022
- Snack food consumption increased 8% to USD 2 billion market in 2022
Domestic Consumption Interpretation
Chileans proudly maintain a diet where the national bird might as well be the chicken, the valleys flow with wine and soda, and the grocery cart tells a tale of cherished tradition briskly being outsold by convenient, processed temptation.
Export Volumes and Values
- In 2022, Chile exported fresh cherries valued at USD 1.2 billion, with 80% to China
- Blueberry exports reached 147,000 tons worth USD 1.1 billion in 2022/2023
- Salmon exports totaled USD 5.6 billion in 2022, with 48% to the USA
- Wine exports were valued at USD 1.4 billion in 2022, to over 150 markets
- Table grape exports hit 700,000 tons worth USD 1.5 billion in 2022/2023
- Apple exports reached 500,000 tons valued at USD 600 million in 2022
- Walnut exports were 120,000 tons for USD 800 million in 2022
- Avocado exports totaled 80,000 tons worth USD 250 million in 2022/2023
- Kiwifruit exports were 40,000 tons valued at USD 150 million in 2022
- Plum exports reached 150,000 tons for USD 300 million in 2022
- Pear exports were 200,000 tons worth USD 250 million in 2022
- Citrus fruit exports totaled 100,000 tons valued at USD 150 million in 2022
- Almond exports hit 20,000 tons for USD 120 million in 2022
- Salmon processed exports (fillets) were 300,000 tons in 2022
- Mussel exports reached 120,000 tons worth USD 400 million in 2022
- Wine bottled exports were 800 million liters valued at USD 1.4 billion in 2022
- Beef exports totaled 20,000 tons carcass equivalent for USD 100 million in 2022
- Pork exports were 15,000 tons worth USD 50 million in 2022
- In 2022, fresh fruit exports from Chile reached USD 8.5 billion, representing 50% of total agricultural exports
- Copper exports dominate but food exports grew 15% to USD 12 billion total agri-food in 2022
- IQF blueberry exports to Europe were 30,000 tons in 2022/2023
- Cherry exports to China: 110,000 tons worth USD 1 billion in 2022/2023
- In 2022, Chile's total agri-food exports hit USD 12.8 billion, up 18% YoY
- Fresh fruit exports volume: 2.5 million tons worth USD 8.5 billion in 2022
- Frozen fruit exports: 200,000 tons USD 1 billion in 2022/2023
Export Volumes and Values Interpretation
Chile has proven that while its economic bedrock may be copper, its true global soft power is a deliciously diverse portfolio, where salmon swims to the USA, a billion dollars in cherries sweetens China, and vineyards, orchards, and waters combine to export over $12 billion worth of gourmet ambition.
Import Volumes and Values
- In 2022, Chile imported USD 2.1 billion in agricultural products, mainly wheat and soy
- Wheat imports totaled 5.5 million tons valued at USD 1.5 billion in 2022
- Soybean imports reached 2.8 million tons for USD 1.2 billion in 2022, for animal feed
- Corn imports were 1.2 million tons worth USD 300 million in 2022
- Dairy product imports (milk powder) totaled 100,000 tons valued at USD 400 million in 2022
- Sugar imports were 500,000 tons for USD 250 million in 2022
- Vegetable oil imports reached 800,000 tons valued at USD 1 billion in 2022
- Rice imports totaled 200,000 tons worth USD 150 million in 2022
- Beef imports were 50,000 tons carcass weight for USD 250 million in 2022
- Pork imports reached 100,000 tons valued at USD 400 million in 2022
- Poultry meat imports totaled 20,000 tons for USD 80 million in 2022
- Processed food imports grew 10% to USD 500 million in 2022, mainly snacks and ready meals
- Fertilizer imports for agriculture were USD 1.5 billion in 2022, critical for yields
- Machinery for food processing imported USD 300 million worth in 2022
- Seeds and planting materials imports totaled USD 200 million in 2022
- In 2022, feed ingredients imports summed USD 2.5 billion, dominated by soy
- Cheese imports were 30,000 tons worth USD 200 million in 2022
- Butter imports reached 15,000 tons for USD 100 million in 2022
- Frozen seafood imports totaled 50,000 tons valued at USD 150 million in 2022
- Chocolate and confectionery imports were USD 250 million in 2022
- Pasta and noodle imports reached USD 100 million in 2022
Import Volumes and Values Interpretation
Chile's grocery cart has gone global, with a staggering $2.1 billion spent last year to cover the nation's tables and feed its farms, revealing a booming economy with a costly and deeply imported appetite.
Industry Employment and Investment
- The food industry employed 200,000 direct workers in 2022, representing 2% of national employment
- Agricultural sector jobs totaled 800,000 in 2022, with fruits 40%
- Salmon industry employed 60,000 people in 2022 across 25 regions
- Wine sector jobs reached 100,000 including vineyards and processing in 2022
- Food processing plants numbered 5,000 in 2022, employing 150,000
- FDI in agri-food reached USD 1.2 billion in 2022, mainly seafood
- R&D investment in food tech was USD 200 million in 2022
- Fruit packing houses employed 100,000 seasonal workers in 2022/2023
- Average wage in food processing was CLP 600,000 monthly in 2022
- Women represented 45% of agricultural workforce in 2022
- Aquaculture jobs grew 5% to 55,000 in 2022
- Dairy industry employed 30,000 in 2022
- Meat processing sector jobs: 25,000 direct in 2022
- Investment in irrigation projects totaled USD 500 million in 2022
- Private investment in salmon farms was USD 2 billion in 2022
- Food industry GDP contribution was 4.5% or USD 15 billion in 2022
- Number of food exporters: 2,500 companies in 2022
- Training programs for 20,000 food workers funded in 2022 by Sence
- Sustainability investments in food sector: USD 300 million in 2022
- Biotech startups in food: 50 new in 2022, with USD 100 million funding
Industry Employment and Investment Interpretation
While Chile's food industry proudly employs 200,000 direct workers, it humbly sits atop a sprawling, 800,000-strong agricultural ecosystem, where armies of seasonal fruit packers, legions of salmon farmers, and battalions of winemakers—all fueled by billions in investment—collectively whip up a USD 15 billion slice of the national GDP, proving that from vineyard to processing plant, the country’s economic plate is abundantly full.
Production and Yield
- In 2022, Chile's total agricultural production value reached approximately USD 12.5 billion, with fruits contributing 45% of the total
- Chile produced 1.8 million tons of grapes in the 2021/2022 season, marking a 5% increase from the previous year
- In 2023, blueberry production in Chile hit a record 180,000 tons during the 2022/2023 season, up 12% year-over-year
- Cherry production in Chile for the 2022/2023 season totaled 143,000 tons, primarily from the O'Higgins region
- Apple production reached 800,000 tons in Chile in 2022, with 60% destined for export markets
- In 2022, Chile harvested 1.2 million tons of walnuts, positioning it as the world's second-largest producer
- Avocado production in Chile was 120,000 tons in the 2022/2023 season, concentrated in the Coquimbo region
- Table grape yields averaged 25 tons per hectare in Chile's central valleys during 2022
- Kiwifruit production totaled 50,000 tons in 2022, with a 10% growth driven by new plantings
- Pomegranate output in Chile reached 15,000 tons in 2023, up from 12,000 tons in 2021
- Plum production was 250,000 tons in the 2021/2022 season, mainly for fresh export
- Pear yields in Chile averaged 40 tons per hectare in 2022, supported by advanced irrigation
- In 2022, citrus production (oranges, lemons, mandarins) summed to 300,000 tons across Chile
- Hazelnut production began commercial scale at 2,000 tons in 2023, with projections to 10,000 by 2030
- Stone fruit production (peaches, nectarines) totaled 400,000 tons in 2022/2023
- Almond production reached 25,000 tons in Chile in 2022, expanding rapidly in the north
- Fig production was 8,000 tons in 2022, niche but growing for export
- Persimmon output hit 20,000 tons in the 2022 season, up 15%
- Olive production for oil reached 25,000 tons in 2022/2023
- Quinoa production in Chile was 5,000 tons in 2022, focused in the north
- Salmon harvest volume in Chile was 531,391 tons in 2022, making it the second-largest global producer
- Trout production totaled 45,000 tons in 2022, primarily rainbow trout
- Mussel production reached 150,000 tons in 2022 from aquaculture
- Sea urchin harvest was 2,500 tons in 2022, mostly wild capture
- Abalone production stood at 1,200 tons in 2022
- Wine grape harvest yielded 1.3 million tons in the 2022/2023 vintage
- Beef production in Chile was 220,000 tons carcass weight in 2022
- Pork production reached 550,000 tons in 2022, up 4%
- Poultry meat output was 1.1 million tons in 2022
- Milk production totaled 3.2 billion liters in 2022
Production and Yield Interpretation
Chile has firmly planted its flag as the world's fruit bowl, with a side of salmon and steak, proving that its agricultural and aquacultural prowess is no flash in the pan but a steadily growing feast for global markets.
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