There is increasing interest in the development of intensively managed olive orchards (Olea europaea L.) in northern Chile. The selection of specific varieties that perform well on a particular site is considered crucial to maximizing productivity. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the productive performance of 29 varieties of olive in the Huasco Valley (28°34' S, 70°47' W), Northern Chile.The traits evaluated were: mean olive production per tree considering a longitudinal (PML) analysis over a period of five years, 2003 to 2007, total olive production in the same period (PA03-07) and alternate bearing index (ABI). The effect of variety was highly significant (p < 0.01) for all traits. In the field trial, IAP was moderate (0.52), with PML 37.7 kg tree-1 and PA-0307 186 kg tree-1. Spearman correlation coefficients between rankings of each trait were positive and significantly different from zero (p < 0.05). Leccino performed best based on fruit production alone. Arbequina , Picholine , Manzanilla Racimo , Picual , Manzanilla de Sevilla , Frantoio and Ascolana Huasco evidenced both high productivity and the lowest alternate bearing. These cultivars could be recommended in Huasco if a farmer is seeking to recover establishment costs rapidly, but we emphasize that a longer-term longitudinal study should be carried out before large-scale deployment.