San Antonio Terminal will offer Chilean exporters four “Cherry Express” services.

San Antonio, November 20, 2025. 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 is the Chilean terminal boasting 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.

“Every cherry season is a large-scale logistical challenge. Coordinating the different links in the chain is key to keeping the sector competitive and continuing to position Chile as a leader in fruit exports,” said Claudia Soler, the committee’s executive director.

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.

The Minister of Agriculture, Ignacia Fernandez, commented, “The public and private sectors have worked together to prepare for the season. Last year was a very positive season, with record export volumes. We had some price-related difficulties and have taken measures to prevent this from happening again in China, to bolster the reputation and quality of our cherries, this fundamental ambassador of Chilean agriculture and of the country.”

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.