In the highly contested and unpredictable blueberry market, air transport is regaining its appeal among South African exporters.

Of the 264,75 tons of berries exported until July 25 of this year, only 19,82 tons were sent by sea, and all of them were destined for the Middle East. The latter country was also by far the largest buyer, with just under 140 tonnes, or 53% of total exports to date.

Although it's still early in the season, this trend reflects the last three seasons. Between last year and the year before, the share of air transport in blueberry exports increased from 15,4% to 44%, and in the current season, 92% of all exports to date have been shipped by air .

The Middle East's share of blueberry exports is also increasing: the bloc only received 4,6% of South Africa's blueberries in the 2021-2022 season, 5,7% in 2022-2023 and 10,1% last year.

Europe's share of South African exports fell from 62,9% in 2021-2022 to 47,1% last year, while the UK's share rose from 27,3% to 35,3% in the same period.

Most of South Africa's blueberries are grown in the Western Cape, so growers rely heavily on the performance of Cape Town's port, which was recently rated the worst performing in the world by the World Bank.

In 2022, blueberry growers lost millions because a strike at Cape Town port coincided with the peak export season for this highly perishable crop.

But according to Elzette Schutte, director of the Berries ZA producer representative association, sea transport is a relatively recent development for this high-value niche market, and it is not only because of port problems that air transport is gaining ground.

“When the industry started exporting, around 2009, most of the varieties used had a fairly short shelf life, so in order to get them to export markets, they had to be shipped by air.

Only in the last three or four years have newer, more resistant varieties begun to be produced, which can last as long as a sea voyage.”

Last year, the world's largest exporter, Peru, suffered severe production losses due to drought caused by the El Niño climate phenomenon, which caused international shortages that South Africa was able to take advantage of in the short term by shipping blueberries by air.

"The nature of the blueberry market makes importers say 'we need berries right now.' In those cases, there is no time to ship them by sea and usually the shortage in those markets guarantees prices high enough to justify the additional cost of air transport,” he stated.