The Peruvian blueberry season is early and exports are increasing steadily
China is the largest export market for Peruvian blueberries. This year, the production season for Peruvian blueberries has been ahead of schedule, the export volume has increased and the price is generally stable. Imported blueberries are one of the main products of Guangzhou Wanxin International Trade Co., Ltd. Recently, FreshPlaza and Polaris Liu, director of the company's foreign trade department, held talks to learn about the behavior of the Peruvian blueberry market this year.
«The Peruvian blueberry production season has been brought forward almost a month this year, with the first shipment arriving in China in mid-to-late July, while last year's production season began in mid-August. Peru's overall export volume has increased this year, and shipments to China in the first phase have increased by around 20-30% compared to the same period last year. The quality in general is satisfactory. About 70% of arrivals have good texture. Most batches are covered in flower, but the flavor of previous batches was relatively sour. In addition, it is estimated that this year's production season will end a month earlier than last year. Currently, due to local conditions, Peruvian production areas have reduced the number of blueberries exported to China. “This year’s Peruvian blueberry production season is expected to reduce shipments or even end around January.” Polaris offers an overview of the current Peruvian blueberry season.
«Affected by local weather, the export of Peruvian blueberries may decrease in the last stage, and some varieties will be smaller in size, and others will be more acidic. This year's price is slightly lower than last year, but overall remains stable. On the other hand, due to the impact of weather conditions, the overall quality of China's domestic blueberries is quite poor. The national blueberry production season has ended early, and the flavor is not as good as in previous years due to heavy rains in the production area, which reduces the impact on Peruvian blueberries. By Therefore, although the Peruvian blueberry season is brought forward, it will have little effect on sales of imported blueberries.
There are many varieties of Peruvian blueberries. Currently, the most common variety is Ventura. This variety is large in size and relatively affordable in price, but has a slightly sour taste. Polaris has observed that there is a trend to update Peruvian blueberry varieties: «More and more brands are planting the Sekoya Pop variety, which is characterized by large fruits, mostly 18-20 mm in diameter, a high brix, and "It is more suitable for the taste of the Chinese market."
As the Peruvian blueberry season comes to an end, Chilean blueberries take over the market. When talking about the behavior of the blueberry market in the two origins, Polaris shared: «In the last two years, the export volume and quality of Chilean blueberries have not been sufficiently stable. This year, the export volume of Chilean blueberries has decreased by 8% to 10%. On the other hand, Peruvian blueberries have a better market in China, and the volume of consumption in the country increases year after year, so there will always be research into varieties according to market preferences. However, the Chilean blueberry sector needs to know the Chinese market better and discover innovative varieties that can maximally satisfy the needs of local consumers.
In addition to imported blueberries, Polaris is also very optimistic about the development of domestic blueberries: “Some varieties of domestic blueberries are of good quality and sufficiently firm. At present, many foreign companies have cooperated with domestic blueberry bases to grow together. “We will also develop more domestic blueberries, so that imported and domestic blueberries alternate with each other, making blueberries still available all year round.”
Guangzhou Wanxin International Trade Co, Ltd. was established in 2012, mainly engaged in fruit import and export trade, wholesale and retail. Sales channels include wholesale market stalls, chain stores, large supermarkets, online e-commerce, and its own beverage store brand “Tiantian Daka”. The company mainly markets a wide variety of fruits, such as blueberries, grapes, avocados and cherries. As for the domestically produced Shine Muscat grapes, it has its own brand “Fu” with several sub-brands and exports them to Southeast Asia and Europe.