Chile continues to export almost double the amount of blueberries Fresh and frozen exports were more common, but during the last season both formats grew at very different rates. While the volume of fresh exports increased by 2,4%, frozen exports grew by 23,4%, reaching nearly 47.500 tons between September 2025 and April 2026, according to ODEPA.

The increase in IQF exports was also accompanied by higher export value, which grew even slightly more than the volume. Fresh exports, meanwhile, saw increases in both quantity and value, although more moderate. The aggregate data, therefore, do not show a decline in fresh exports that would suggest a general substitution between the two formats.

Ñuble: frozen surpasses fresh in value

In Ñuble, the relationship between the two channels is different. During 2025, the region exported US$87 million in blueberries frozen and US$74 million in fresh products, according to ProChile

IQF also represents 50% or more of regional shipments, according to INIA Quilamapu. The significance of this data increases when considering that Ñuble concentrates around 23% of the national area dedicated to blueberry cultivation.

Nationally, fresh produce maintains a significant advantage in both volume and value exported. Ñuble, however, demonstrates that frozen produce can achieve a comparable level of success within one of the main producing regions of south-central Chile.

IQF coexists with varietal replacement

The increased dynamism of frozen exports coincides with another process underway in the Chilean industry: the varietal renewal of the fresh produce supply. New varieties have continued to gain market share in this segment, while some traditional varieties have seen a decline in their presence.

The frozen product also maintains its own varietal composition. INIA has highlighted the good performance of Legacy y Blue-Ribbon in IQF, while background information from the Committee Blueberries Fruits from Chile demonstrate the space that this channel maintains within the national offer.

Both processes are part of the current configuration of the industry, although the available background information does not allow us to establish how much the varietal change of fresh produce affects the growth observed in frozen exports.

Firm prices and movement between destinations

Trading conditions are also showing favorable signs. In Ñuble, reported prices for conventional IQF were above last season's levels and fluctuated between US$1,30 and US$1,75 per kilo, according to INIA.

Another significant shift occurred in external markets. The United States continued to be the main buyer of blueberry Chilean frozen food was a major market, but shipments to that destination decreased during the period analyzed by ODEPA. Other important markets, however, increased their purchases in both volume and value.

The overall growth of Chilean frozen food occurred, therefore, despite a decrease in shipments to its main market. In the United States, Chilealimentos also reported firm prices for IQF (individually quick frozen) food during the first half of 2026, in a context of reduced domestic availability in some producing regions.

The improved pricing conditions and the movement between destinations coincide with the expansion of Chilean shipments, although the background does not allow us to attribute that growth to a single variable.

More weight, not replacement

The aggregated data do not allow us to speak of a substitution of fresh by frozen products. Fresh products continue to be the main export channel for blueberry Chilean and also increased its shipments during the season.

What the figures do show is a considerable difference in the growth rate. IQF increased by more than 20% in volume and reached a particularly significant level in Ñuble, where during 2025 it surpassed fresh products in export value.

Frozen food thus emerges as a business with its own dynamics within the export supply of blueberry Chilean.

By: Natalia Rubio Iversen

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