"The end of a long story": Fruit company Greenex files for bankruptcy and declares liabilities of 19,326 million pesos

"This is the end of a long business history and not a prematurely frustrated venture, which makes this request a very hard and regrettable gesture." With these words, Exportadora Greenex, a fruit company owned by brothers Eduardo and Rodrigo Gárate, requested from the 3rd Civil Court of Santiago the declaration of its voluntary liquidation. In its filing, the company —advised by lawyer Juan Esteban Puga, an expert in insolvency proceedings— stated that "the venture was for decades not only successful, but resounding." According to the court document, the company experienced strong commercial dynamism in recent years, recording sales of $37,049 million in 2022; $37,030 million in 2023; $54,152 million in 2024, and $35,463 million in 2025. Through a document signed by businessman Rodrigo Gárate, the firm detailed that its total liabilities currently amount to $19,326 million. The breakdown of the debt shows that most of it corresponds to financial creditors ($12,188 million), followed by related creditors ($4,597 million) and invoice debts ($2,539 million). Among the financial creditors are the main banks in the market. Exportadora Greenex holds debts with Banco Santander ($3,351 million), Banco BCI ($2,321 million), BancoEstado ($2,011 million), Scotiabank ($1,624 million), Itaú ($1,525 million), Bice ($1,058 million) and Banco de Chile ($295 million). On the other hand, in the category of related creditors, the company owes $2,547 million to Comercializadora Gárate Hermanos. Exportadora Greenex. Greenex is a fruit exporting and producing company, founded in 2015 by a group of producers and packers with experience in the industry. Its main plant is located in Codegua, O'Higgins Region, and it has its own production, packing plant, cold storage, logistics and direct export. Greenex Frutas. Cases Greenex explained to the court that the fruit export sector has four associated risk factors. "The first is the market itself, whose prices and conditions vary every year, sometimes radically. The second is the climate element, because as an exporter of fresh fruit, the weather affects our suppliers, the fruit producers, in such a way that a bad year not only means selling less, but often that the producers to whom we normally advance production expenses cannot reimburse us for those advances." A third factor is the varieties. "Fruit, like any commodity, is not an invariable product. Every year nurseries, especially in the United States, generate new plants, thereby rendering old varieties obsolete whose commercialization becomes increasingly difficult. Finally, the exchange rate affects our business, since internal costs are in pesos and a negative exchange rate affects our results," it stated. According to the same document, "All these factors have been evolving negatively over the last five years, which as a result dragged the company into a situation of insolvency that was expected to be recoverable, but given the stone fruit and cherry market —in which our producers are relevant players— and the future projections of those sectors, a recovery is not foreseen that would allow, at least in the long term, honoring all the obligations weighing on our represented party." To get out of insolvency, Greenex first considered the possibility of seeking a solution through a Judicial Reorganization Agreement in order to restructure its liabilities in the long term with a sustainable payment plan. In that regard, on April 23 of this year it filed a request for concursal reorganization before the Second Civil Court of Rancagua. However, "after consultations with our financial and legal advisors, we saw that there were seriously no hopes of reversing the insolvency situation," they explained. NEWSLETTER Pulso PM Monday to Friday, 12:30 PM The most relevant news on markets, companies and business: timely information, context and content to make better decisions. By subscribing you are accepting the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies of La Tercera.