From France and Chile to learn about the blueberry industry in Peru

01/04/2025

A select group of professionals participated in the Arándanos Perú 2025 Technical Tour, seeking to learn more about the blueberry industry in Peru. We were able to gather their opinions. Baiba Dance, coming from France representing Agaris Group and the Chilean businessman Javier Valdés Plaza de SCM Forwarder.

BAIBA DANCE (FRANCE), EXPORT MANAGER OF AGARIS GROUP

What company are you coming from and what are your expectations for the technical tour and seminar?

I come from the Agaris Group, a group headquartered in Belgium, but with production lines in Latvia, Poland, Belgium, and France. We produce growing media and substrates. We have our own peat bogs in Latvia and our factories in different parts of Europe. And today I'm here to see and appreciate how Baltic peat is being used in blueberry production in Peru.

So you're looking to expand your business in the region?

We produce substrates not only for blueberry production, but also for plant production in general, such as seedlings, potted plants, fruit, etc. So I came to see how the market works here and thus better respond to market needs.

I'm glad to see Baltic peat being used here, and although we're not yet marketing our product in the region, we see an opportunity to offer something we know works.

What do you think of the blueberry production processes you observed on the technical tour?

Today on the technical tour, visiting the production area and talking to people, I see that Baltic peat is very beneficial for blueberry production, especially here. They mix it with the soil on the farm, which gives more aeration and better water retention to the soil. Baltic peat also naturally has a low pH, and that lowers the pH in general. I also heard that they work here with very high temperatures at certain times of the year and the sand gets very hot, and the peat helps keep the roots from getting too hot, because the peat helps keep it from rising too much. But what we've seen here (crops of Family Farms Peru) is a human achievement, because this isn't the blueberry's natural habitat. For example, in Latvia, where I was born and where peat is extracted, blueberries grow naturally. So, it's very nice to see that here, thanks to human genius, combining natural resources and technical knowledge, they've achieved fantastic results in blueberry production.

Baiba Dance, by Agaris Group.

JAVIER VALDÉS PLAZA (CHILE), OWNER OF SCM FORWARDER

What company are you coming from and what are your expectations for the technical tour and seminar?

SCM Forwarder is a company dedicated to transportation logistics. We're about to celebrate our tenth anniversary, and for eight of those years we've been involved in the blueberry industry, especially with plants. We've worked with the world's largest companies in plant exports in Chile, Peru, Mexico, and the United States. This journey has led us to become specialists. It's practically the culmination of a process we see from a logistics perspective. It's incredibly important for me and my team to fully understand the production processes and the logistics models these products require.

What is your opinion of the processes observed during the technical tour?

Coming here and finding this in the middle of the desert is surreal, and I connect it with what we do; we're highly specialized, and this makes us proud. So being connected to a market like this, an industry like this, understanding it better and learning the process, and connecting with other market players that allow us to deepen this relationship with the industry is absolutely necessary.

Especially when the projection is that the blueberry industry will continue to grow.

The potential of blueberries has greatly strengthened in the region. I recently made a video and mentioned the increasing demand year after year, as well as the fact that more and more of this product's properties and benefits are being discovered. This generates positive demand for the industry, increasing its capacity and production. Right now, we're hearing about changes in techniques to be more productive, and that's incredible. I'm very happy to be part of this tour.