For the first time in Namibia's history, the country exports tons of blueberries. This is possible because the delicious small fruit, marketed under the Namib Blue brand, is grown alongside the Okavango River at Mashare Berries Farming, while Transworld Cargo, another Namibian company, handles the challenging transportation to their export destinations in Europe.

Mashare Berries Farming surpassed the symbolic mark of 100 tons on October 6, 2020, which was during its first year of production. The first seven tons were loaded onto a Eurowing Airbus A330 on September 21, 2020 and arrived in Frankfurt the next day.

More shipments of the coveted berries followed, reaching the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Russia and even Hong Kong. According to Mashare Berries Farming, more berries have also been sold locally than expected.

In a statement, the agricultural entity noted that one of the most difficult parts of distributing blueberries is that small fruits must constantly be kept at a temperature just above freezing.

The statement continues that once harvested, the blue berries have to reach the refrigerator in half an hour, where they cool to a few degrees Celsius. The brittle bluish / purple fruit is extremely pressure and temperature sensitive, which means it must be packed and sorted in cool rooms at very low temperatures. As a result, the local workforce has to wear thick protective clothing, although the outside temperature can easily reach 30 ° C.

After the blue berries are packed into cardboard boxes, the boxes are neatly stacked on pallets and then moved to cooler rooms to await cargo in refrigerated trucks for transport to Hosea Kutako International Airport or domestic destinations.

When on the road, the valuable cargo is kept at a constant low temperature while the same conditions are maintained in the special holding facility at the airport, where the berries arrive a few hours before the cargo plane leaves for Europe.

At Mashare Berries Farming strict health standards are followed. All employees must wash and sanitize their hands each morning before starting work. All equipment must be washed prior to use and the use of face masks in the fields and in the packing facility is particularly respected during these Covid-19 times. 

According to the statement, berry pickers, bringing buckets of freshly picked blue berries to a mobile collection point, must wash their hands at all times. In addition, there are numerous water points in the field where workers can quench their thirst. Employees who pack berries should also wash and sanitize their hands regularly.

Packed in special containers, the Namib Blues are loaded onto a Eurowing plane and arrive in Frankfurt ten hours later. Recorders inside the pallets monitor the temperature all the way from Mashare's cold room to the wholesaler in the Northern Hemisphere. The very low temperature is essential for the consumer to buy fresh and tasty blueberries.

Namib Blue's success story is not only limited to the unconventional product that is grown in Namibia and exported, but 450 rural women have found a job in the Kavango East region and that in the next year Mashare Berries are expected to employ more. Farming.
The plants are also expected to produce more fruit next year in the 20 hectare field currently in production. The blueberry project cost around S $ 90 million to start up, made possible by financial backing from a private equity firm.