"There is an opportunity for Chile in the varieties that are now appearing with more force"
Taking advantage of its presence at the blueberry industry meeting, in the context of the XXV International Seminar on Blueberries & Cherries that the Thursday April 13 in the Monticello Conference Center, in Chilewe talked with him director of the Chilean Blueberry Committee, Andrés Armstrong, on one of the outstanding topics among the numerous talks and topics addressed in the seminar, and that is the great news of new improved varieties for cold climates and the close possibility of being suitable for mechanical harvesting for the fresh market.
What do you think of the fresh market mechanical harvest trials with the new FallCrek varieties? Can they be a boost for the Chilean blueberry industry?
Undoubtedly, the presence of the groups – because not only is this variety development group there, there are others who are here in Chile and who are doing work and there is a renewal – I believe that there is an opportunity for varieties that are of high chill, different from the varieties with a low requirement for cold hours, which are the ones that are produced mainly in Peru, Mexico or Morocco, which are the ones with whom we are competing the most today. And of course, the supply of these varieties to Chile has taken longer, that is, let's talk about Chile and also the United States, because (except for those from Florida) they have had a slower development, for two reasons:
One, it is because there was a great need for fruit in the periods between the US season and the Chilean season, where there was a space, at the end of the US and at the beginning and end of Chile, so there was a much greater need for supply than the that there was, and for obvious reasons these varieties appeared in the countries that we have talked about (Peru, Mexico and Morocco), they precisely went to that offer.
And also because the speed at which this type of plant develops is much faster. So varietal development has been much faster. Varietal replacement has been easier. Because here we take more time for the variety to enter production. There (Peru, Mexico or Morocco) it takes a year, or even less, to know if the variety will work well or not. So here it has been slower.
There is an opportunity for Chile in those varieties that are now appearing more strongly. It is necessary to see how the Chilean industry can adapt and incorporate these varieties. I think that there is a part of the industry that is going to be able to do it and another that is not. We have a very wide and very heterogeneous distribution of producers. There are a lot of small producers who, if they didn't do their varietal renovation before, now it's going to be more difficult for them.
So yes, there is an opportunity. Perhaps with surfaces on average a little larger than what we have had, and with this new genetic material. I believe that our niche will be there, with a smaller volume than we have historically had and from there we can start growing again...
Will we go down to 50 thousand tons?
I think that next season we will continue to drop. We still have many varieties that we must continue to extract from our export networks. The renovation is happening, but at a slightly slower pace…
And regarding mechanical harvesting, what do you think?
It will be necessary to see first if that works in the United States. Hopefully it will work, because it is also a limitation in various parts, not only here in Chile. But you have to start with those producers who are closest to the markets. It will be necessary to see if it works for a producer in the US, which is in transit days to its market. Then we have to see for ourselves, that we have weeks to reach our markets. That is the big difference.
El XXV International Seminar on Blueberries & Cherries It was held with great attendance, taking over all the halls of the venue to give space to those interested in the themes of the invited crop, which on this occasion was the cherry.
In the talks there were many high points, which we will develop in future notes, and which may become decisive for the Chilean industry, such as this possibility of mechanical harvesting for fresh; foreign investments that are materializing, and the large amount of information regarding achieving better management regarding cost reduction and achieving greater profitability for the activity.