Currently, blueberries marketed in the US come largely from Chile, which began shipping this year to supply the East Coast of the North American country, while Mexican supplies go mainly to the West Coast. , reported Fresh Plaza.

“Supplies from Chile have been good so far. However, there are some labor supply issues there, which creates headaches from a production standpoint, mainly due to competition for that labor,” says Tom Beaver of Sunny Valley International, based in Glassboro, NJ, who adds that Peruvian supplies have also stopped ahead of schedule this year: “Last year they were a little longer and were always down around this time. But it looks like the decline has been a bit more drastic this year.”

However, the biggest concern is shipping delays due to issues at the Port of Los Angeles. “They have seen an increase not only in the arrival of products, but also in durable goods that are sold online. That has created an unprecedented backlog at the port,” says Beaver. “Everything has fallen apart because of this. The ships that were to arrive at the beginning of the week ”, he indicates.

Beaver stresses that the challenges lie in scheduling the availability of the fruit for the immediate future. Delays like this could create some worrying scenarios. “I think ultimately what we're going to see is the volume that was destined for the West Coast coming here. That hasn't happened yet, at least at the ports of Wilmington and Philadelphia, which are our two main hubs. But that could create problems for us from a marketing standpoint if fruit originally destined for the West Coast starts coming here,” he says.

That said, he doesn't anticipate the Chilean season ending later than usual given these logistical challenges. “We have a lot of volume booked and on the way between now and the end of March,” says Beaver, who details that “There is less fruit available each day and that has caused an increase in demand in general,” says Beaver.

He adds that this product has behaved like a commodity during the pandemic. “In the last year we have seen strong demand on a fairly consistent basis. The increase in grocery store purchases and online purchases has helped keep demand fairly stable,” says Beaver, adding that as part of this, consumers have also been interested in larger pack sizes of blueberries this year.

Going forward, Beaver notes that peak volumes from Chile should arrive in the next week or so and continue through early March. “We think there will be plenty of market opportunities and we anticipate prices and demand to be quite strong,” he says. “But if suddenly things open up and all kinds of volume comes in this direction, we will have to react. We take one day at a time, ”he maintains.