Industry leaders anticipate a good season for Chilean blueberry production and export to the United States during the winter months.

The weather in Chile so far has been good, with only light frosts and no reports of major damage, said Jorge Echenique, CEO of Last Land Farms SA.

"The northern harvest is delaying the normal season a bit, but it is recovering," he said. 

Echenique said that the US market will always be an important part of the Chilean harvest and the volume should be similar to that of the 2019-20 season.

“A late Chinese New Year will bring more fruit (to Asia), but I don't think it will change volumes drastically,” he said.

Growers are also reducing the volume of older, weaker varieties in favor of better-performing ones, which he said is positive for the outlook.

The Chilean Blueberry Committee estimated fresh exports for the current season at 111.500 tons, a figure similar to that of 2019-20 and 2% higher than the previous season.

In the 2019-20 season, Chile's peak months for blueberry shipments to the US were December, January, and February. Chilean exporters shipped about a third (32%) of the country's annual shipments by value to the United States in January of last season, followed by February (27%) and December (23%).

Total Chilean blueberry exports to the US in the 2019-20 season (September 2019 to August 2020) were valued at $ 209,7 million, up from $ 269,9 million the previous season and almost $ 110 million less than in 2017-18.

Chile's share of total US blueberry imports was 24% in 2019, down from 33% in 2018 and 44% in 2015.
Peru has seen its share of the value of US blueberry imports grow from 9% in 2015 to 41% in 2019, according to USDA numbers.

Harvest start

The blueberry harvest was underway in the producing areas of northern Chile in the Coquimbo region, where Ovalle counties are the first to start production, said Juan Andrés Ferrari, vice president of global sourcing for ACF Global Sourcing.

"Our expected fresh blueberry season should be around 112.000 tonnes, but if the markets during the last weeks of December, January and February show unexpected returns and are favorable, our total exports could increase between 5% and 10% without problems" , said. , noting that around 15.000 to 20.000 tons could be fresh or frozen depending on the markets.

"The quality should be very good, due to a very pleasant spring, so far with very mild temperatures that give the fruit the opportunity to grow at a good rate," he said.

The Chilean Blueberry Committee said that a positive development this season is the greater availability of water in regions V, Metropolitana and VI.

"Increased rains in winter and accumulated snow in the mountain range have given new life to regions affected by drought last year," the committee said in a crop update.

Improving levels of water reservoirs and snow cover in the Andes has helped make the northern and central growing region positive, Ferrari said.

The approval of the US Department of Agriculture of Chilean blueberry imports without methyl bromide fumigation should be favorable for increased shipments of Chilean organic blueberries to the US.

In October, the USDA said it will allow the importation of blueberries from the Biobío and Ñuble regions of Chile, where the European vine moth is known to exist, but where the prevalence of the pest is low, without requiring fumigation with methyl bromide.

Because organic fruit cannot be fumigated, the new USDA protocol will open the door for more organic berries to be shipped from those regions to the US.

The Chilean Blueberry Committee said that a volume of 9.500 tons is estimated in Ñuble and another 7.100 tons in Biobio.

“In total, the volume will reach 16.600 tons, which represents 15% of the estimated total for this season. It is estimated that most of this volume is organic, ”the committee said.

The committee said the USDA-approved systems approach will make it possible to replace fumigation. The systems approach consists of a set of pest risk management measures that are carried out at origin with a pre-inspection of orchards and fruits, in order to replace fumigation at destination.

“The systems approach will allow fruit of better quality and condition to reach consumers but, more importantly, it will reactivate organic blueberry exports from these two regions to the US market,” said the Chilean Blueberry Committee.

Ferrari said organic production could see a boost due to USDA entry approval in core growing regions, where most traditional organic blueberry farms are located.

“During the last five to six years a lot of organic production has been promoted to the south and north of these traditional areas,” he said.

“This is good news for the organic community and good news for the market.”

Ferrari said a couple of years of below-average returns have increased the trend for more direct exports from large producers.

COVID-19

COVID-19 protocols are not expected to harm ocean blueberry shipments from Chile.

“You never know for sure, and of course there is a level of uncertainty in the sector, but everyone is confident that Chilean producers have the ability to meet their commitments,” Ferrari said, noting that social turbulence from the force labor is light in agricultural areas. .

"In terms of port strikes, as usual every year during the season (we will have) some interruptions for three to five days, but most of the operations are in containers and give much more flexibility if there are delays due to port problems," Ferrari said.

"There is no doubt that (things) can go wrong if there are not good responses to social requirements and demands, but we are sure that ... the level of anxiety in the general population will decrease," he said.