Although it is not yet known how a global safeguard measure could affect Chile, the private sector is coordinating with national authorities to better deal with the investigation process.

The Chilean blueberry industry is concerned at the news that appeared last week, in which the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced that it will request the International Trade Commission of that country (USITC) to initiate an investigation to determine the damage that blueberry imports may be causing to producers in some states of that country.

"If the damage is proven, safeguards could be imposed on countries that export this fruit to the US, said Ronald Bown, President of the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile (Asoex).

In this report, carried out jointly by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the United States Department of Commerce, it is noted that after a series of hearings held in August of this year, evidence was provided that the increase of blueberry imports may be hurting the local blueberry industry, particularly in the southeastern United States. "

One of the factors to justify the above would be that US imports of blueberries have increased significantly in the last 15 years, with the following countries that export this product the most to the US: Peru, Chile, Mexico, Canada and Argentina, which could be affected by potential safeguard measures.

Bown pointed out that “although it is not yet known how a global safeguard measure could affect Chile, in conjunction with our Blueberry Committee, we are coordinating with the authorities of the Undersecretary of International Economic Relations and the Chilean Embassy in Washington, to face this investigation process in the best way ”.

In this regard, it is important to note that Chile has focused its efforts on developing consumption and diversifying markets. In this sense, the results have been positive, since, in the last 10 years, exports of fresh blueberries from Chile went from 50 thousand tons to 110 thousand tons, growing by 120%. In the same period, national exports to the US went from an 82% share of our exports to a 50% share.

Although the main export market continues to be the US, where promotional efforts have also been consistently developed in the last 13 years, especially highlighting the contribution to the health of consumers of blueberries, due to their high content of beneficial elements. As antioxidants and vitamins, the biggest growths were in recent years in Asia and Europe, where new consumers were incorporated and we increased penetration in various countries.

Finally, the President of Asoex pointed out that “during the past season, shipments to Asia increased by 20% and to Europe by 8%, while shipments to the United States decreased by 11%. In the case of organic blueberries, however, the volume grows in all markets. In this segment, shipments from Chile to the United States grew by 11% and accounted for 74% of shipments.