Acta Hortic. 1235. ISHS 2019. DOI 10.17660/ActaHortic.2019.1235.18 Proc. VIII International Cherry Symposium Eds.: K. Beppu et al. 141 Evolution of the sweet cherry industry in Chile J.M. Donoso 1 , G. Lemus 1 , D. Arribillaga 2 and B. Sagredo 1 1 Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA), Centro Regional de Investigació n (CRI) Rayentué, Av. Salamanca s/n, sector Los Choapinos, Rengo, Regió n de O’Higgins, Chile; 2 Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIA), CRI Tamel Aike, Las Lengas 1450, Coyhaique, Regió n de Aysén, Chile. Abstract The fruit industry is one of the most dynamic economic areas of Chile, positioning it as the leading exporter of fresh fruit from the southern hemisphere. During the last decade, sweet cherry (P. avium L.) production presents the greatest growth and profitability. Latest reports place Chile at sixth place within the world producers with 4.6% of global production. Chile follows Turkey (20.7%), the USA (16.4%), China (9,1), the Ukraine (9.1%) and Poland (8.3%) (ODEPA, 2015). However, Chile is the second largest sweet cherry exporter just after the USA, with 20 and 21% of the trade worldwide, respectively. The success of Chile as a fresh fruit exporter is based on the fact that our production arrives in the main consumer markets off- season with higher prices. Nowadays we represent 90% of the exported sweet cherry volume from the southern hemisphere. Competitors such as New Zealand, Australia and Argentina do not reach 10% each of the export market. However, the high price is an incentive for these countries to stimulate their own industry and become serious competitors to Chile (ODEPA, 2015). Good fruit quality is the most important aspect that will define our competitiveness in this future scenario, albeit the increasingly limited access to new cultivars could be a serious constraint. In response to this situation the Chilean fruit industry, supported by the state, have implemented their own breeding programs for sweet cherries. Keywords: production, training systems, cultivars, rootstocks INTRODUCTION It is believed that sweet cherry was introduced to Chile in the 17 th century from cuttings brought from Spain through Peru. Two centuries later, the species had been distributed from the North (Copiapo, 27°S) to the South (Chiloe, 41-43°S) of the country as part of the marginal farming, mainly used as a living hedge, without management, showing small and acid fruit (Gay, 1859). After the boom of the Chilean fruit-growing industry (1970), and mainly since the 1990s, sweet cherry cultivation has shown a permanent increase of plantations, including an improvement of horticultural practices such as controlling vigour by means of new cultivars and rootstocks, pest and disease management, and postharvest behaviour. Thus, the sweet cherry has become a traditional Chilean export fruit, but with a limited surface of cultivation and low volume of fruit exported considering the market demand and real potential for growth. However, over the past decade this species has shown substantial increases in the cultivated surface, estimated at 20,842 ha established in Chile (Figure 1; Table 1). This is thanks to good prices and the opening of new markets, especially China, where more than 80% of shipments abroad are currently exported. Indeed, the sweet cherry industry estimates suggest that at the end of the decade around 30,000 ha will be in production with approximately 150,000 t of fruit being exported.