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This report provides a comprehensive overview of the sweets and snack industry in Chile, highlighting its main players, consumption trends, regulations, and related international trade. The industry is robust and competitive balancing local production and imports. Innovation and adaption to consumption trends are key to the sector's continued growth.

In marketing year (MY) 2023/24, with an increasing trend in area planted and assuming regular yields, Post estimates lemon production to grow by 6.7 percent and reach 175,000 (MT) metric tons. Chilean lemon exports will increase 8.8 percent, totaling 74,000 metric tons.

El Salvador's coffee production is expected to reach 555,000 sixty-kg-bags in marketing year (MY) 2023/24. The Salvadoran coffee sector continues to be affected by climate vulnerability and an absent long-term strategy.

In marketing year (MY) 2023/24, higher than normal temperatures early in the winter and a slow accumulation of chilling hours caused a delay in the harvest, and subsequently a delay in export shipment, of most deciduous fruit.

Sugar production in marketing year (MY) 24 is estimated at 787,000 metric tons (MT), while production for MY23 reached 765,000 MT. Continued international prices have eased the financial burden exerted by the high cost of inputs on the sugar sector.

On July 7, 2024, Chile’s new alcoholic beverages labeling law will come into force. The law aims to warn drivers, pregnant women, and minors about the impacts of consuming alcohol and to restrict the advertisements that could be directed to minors.

Chile has a modern and developed food and beverage processing industry. The Chilean food sector is the second most relevant export sector in the country after mining. There are significant opportunities for imported food ingredients in Chile, as half of all ingredients used by the food processing industry are imported.

For MY 2024/25, Post estimates that wheat area harvested will total 195,000 hectares (ha), a 2.5 percent decrease from MY 2023/24 to due to high input costs and low prices. Wheat production will reach 1.17 million metric tons (MMT).

In 2024, political uncertainty will continue to diminish, and GDP will grow between 1.25 and 2.25 percent due to a recovery in consumption. This will bring opportunities for U.S. exporters looking to ship products to Chile. Agricultural GDP grew firmly in the past three years, reaching $28.9 billion in 2023.

In 2022, El Salvador imported $973 million of agricultural products from the United States, out of which about $283 million were consumer oriented.

Chile presents excellent export opportunities for U.S. food and beverage exporters. After record-setting exports in 2021, shipments of U.S. agricultural and related products to Chile reached $1.1 billion in 2022.

In marketing year (MY) 2023/24, Post projects lemon production to grow by 6.7 percent and reach 175,000 metric tons (MT) due to high profits and an increase in area planted.