Good demand pushes the season
Timothy Taffe brings to detail the pulse of Copiapó. Taffe is chairman of the Copiapó River Surveillance Board and executive of the Agrofruta exporter. In about three more weeks, the first boxes of table grapes of the season should leave from that northern valley. Those fruits will be the first concrete signal that Chilean farmers will have of how the hand for the fruit exports of the 2015-2016 campaign comes, an industry that already exports almost US $ 4.000 million.
In the market there is fear about the production of Copiapó. In March, a flood swept through about 700 hectares and, as if that were not enough, in July a snowfall fell that threw several table grape barracks in the highest part of the valley.
«There will be a reduction in production, but it will not be as significant as feared. In the valley there is a replanting of about 500 to 600 hectares of table grapes per year. In addition, all relevant export fruit irrigation problems were resolved. The orchards that fell due to the snow have partially recovered. "The farmers of Copiapó are going to get ahead this year," Taffe says.
The leader believes that, from the traditional 10,5 millions of boxes of table grapes, Copiapo would go to about 9,5 millions to 10 millions of boxes in the 2015-2016 season.
The volumes leaving Copiapó are relevant, because as has happened in recent years, a drop in supply tends to "block" sales, since supermarkets in the US, the main market, allocate little space to it. A situation that is accentuated when large volumes arrive from the central area. That is why the moderate decline in the northern valley suggests a less complex marketing than feared.
In any case, the demand for fruits that open the season, such as table grapes, cherries and blueberries, is very strong.
«Consumption of fresh fruit in the United States is very active and there is greater interest from retail chains. In addition, demand for fruit in China is becoming stronger, despite news of stock market problems. An example is the growth of blueberry exports to that market, displacing shipments that previously went to the United States., says Manuel José Alcaíno, president of Decofrut.
The only exception to this positive picture are the pitfalls, which see how the sum of problems in the quality of the Chilean offer and the difficulties in entering China could cause mediocre or directly negative results.
Blueberries with clear path
Michelle Obama, the first lady of the United States, is in a personal crusade to improve the diet of her fellow citizens. One of the central points of his battle is to increase the per capita consumption of fruit. That is why he did not hesitate to spread his recipe to make blueberry cake. The berry has become the fruit symbol of healthy eating.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the demand in that market for Chilean blueberries rises every year. And this season is no exception. With two relevant aggregates. In the first place, the production of Argentina, which comes out before Chile, fell close to 20% due to frost and hail. In simple terms, that means that there is a more underserved international market that will welcome the arrival of the Chilean offer.
Second, Chinese importers have been very active this season. If the United States usually took close to 90% of Chilean exports of fresh blueberries, last year it fell to less than 80%, basically due to China's largest purchases. Everything indicates that this phenomenon will be accentuated in this campaign, as consumers in that country value foods associated with good health.
In this scenario, the big winners are blueberry producers, who should enjoy good prices.
Now regarding the high volatility of the climate and the scare for the damages of eventual rains in spring and summer, due to the El Niño phenomenon, Isabel Quiroz puts cold cloths on her.
«Blueberries are a species of cold and rainy climate, so there will not be as much impact on exports. Producers will harvest their crops at the rate of possible rains. The forecasts, at least 10 days out, are very accurate and the harvest can be scheduled.", says the executive.
Source: Revista del Campo
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