The delay of the harvest strengthens the Chilean blueberry market

26/12/2017

The delay in the start of the Chilean blueberry season has led to a stronger market than last year. The cooler temperatures delayed the harvest, because the producers were waiting for the fruit to mature, but now the volume is on the way and it is expected that maritime containers will arrive around the New Year.

“The season was supposed to start in the first week of November, but it actually started towards the end of that month,” says Hugo Díaz of Andean Fruit LLC. “As the temperatures were cooler, the berries did not acquire their color or sugars, so the growers had to wait a few more weeks. But now the volume is constant and the quality is very good”.

Air transport is more difficult
Suppliers have stressed that preparing the air transport of blueberries from Chile has been a challenge this year. They point to a general shortage of aircraft available in the region, to which is added the information that some transport companies are experiencing financial difficulties.

“We have had many problems scheduling flights this year,” says Díaz. “Airlines have withdrawn some of the planes from the region, so there is a shortage of freighters available. It is possible that since there were not many shipments from Chile to the United States last year, they did not think they would be needed. This year, air transportation options are limited.”

Shipping containers will start arriving soon
It is expected that maritime containers of blueberries begin to arrive towards the end of the year or the beginning of the next. The demand has been high and the market is strong, because of the delay of the harvest and also Christmas.

“The market is better than last year and should remain strong as we head into the Christmas period,” Diaz adds. “The containers are expected to start arriving towards the end of December or the beginning of January. Our producing regions are concentrated in the south-central part of Chile and we expect our arrivals to continue until the second week of March, while the supply from the south is expected to continue for another month.

More customers ask for 1 pint packs

Diaz says he has noticed that more retailers customers are asking for 1 blueberry paints for air this year. He has observed that, due to the delay of the season, there are not many containers of this size, as usual.

“More customers have ordered air shipments of 1-pint containers,” he says. “It is a common product of air shipments at this time of year. The reason is that, as the harvest has been delayed, so have the maritime containers. Normally, ocean containers would have arrived by now and so we are importing more 1-pint containers by air.”

Source: freshplaza.es

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