San Antonio Terminal Internacional (STI), together with Frutas de Chile, began a new cherry export season on Tuesday with more available vessels (32), offering greater frequency, coverage and flexibility for customers.
Operated by Hanseatic Global Terminals and SSA Marine, STI boasts the most services during the cherry season, operating four direct routes to Asia (Cherry Express) lasting 23 days from Chile to China.
"Our direct service offering demonstrates that we are the main point of departure for Chilean cherries destined for Asia. Sixty percent (60%) of the 'Cherry Express' services, with reduced sailing times between Chile and China, operate out of STI. This drives us to continue to enhance the industry's competitiveness and reinforce our commitment to deliver continuous, efficient and safe operations for exporters," said STI's general manager, Andrés Albertini.
According to estimates from Frutas de Chile's Cherry Committee, exports for the 2025-2026 season are projected to reach 131 million boxes, equivalent to 655 thousand metric tons.
Most fresh cherries are shipped by sea. In fact, 90% of all cherries are exported by ship to the different destination markets, with the "Cherry Express" ships sailing directly to China in only 23 days.
This season, the terminal will offer more than 3,000 connection points for reefer containers, ensuring that the fruit arrives at its destination in optimal conditions.
In addition, it features a digitalized operating system, reinforced security protocols and flow automation. Furthermore, intelligence initiatives and telemetry are under development to optimize operation times and anticipate logistical contingencies.