President Chilean Fruit Blueberry Committee and manager of North Bay Produce, Ruy barbosa, talks with us about the Chilean blueberry industry and various related topics.

– How do you envision the future of Chilean industry? Especially in such a competitive environment.

– Well, the competition isn't easy. The truth is, everyone knows that Peru leads the global blueberry industry by far in terms of exports, due to its climate and the significant investments it has made in water and water management. They have tremendous productivity and have managed to produce and offer a better quality product than ours.

Objectively, we can put on Chile's jersey and we can find—we'll always find some very good things in Chile—but in general, if we look at it overall, Peru is superior to us. They're also, logistically, closer to other markets than we are. The only market where we have an advantage today, or until this year, is Asia, because we can hop on the Cherry Express, thanks to cherries, and we can get there faster. However, the Chinese market isn't as attractive to us, and due to the characteristics of our varieties, it's very difficult to compete there. Therefore, I still believe there are opportunities.

Versatile cultivation

Blueberries are everywhere. They have become very popular. The fact that blueberries have adapted so well to different climates, especially subtropical ones, has allowed them to be present in markets year-round, and this helps make the fruit more well-known.

This new genetics, produced by our competitors and which we are beginning to produce in Chile, has generated a better consumer experience. Therefore, consumption is increasing, perhaps not as quickly as we would like or as rapidly as production, but I still believe that blueberries, in the medium term, will be the most consumed fruit in the world.

Today bananas are by far the most consumed.

Grapes are also very nutritious, but blueberries are a fruit with spectacular medicinal properties. They're low in sugar and very easy to eat; you have to be crystal clear on that. You only get blueberries from the clamshell or from the packaging, and eat it. Of course, you have to wash it first, but you don't have to throw away a seed, you don't have to peel it, you don't have to remove a shell, you don't have to throw away a stem, or anything. Therefore, it's a fruit that's easy to eat, that can be adapted to your breakfast, to a snack, to a salad, to a meal, or to whatever. This makes me very positive about what the future of the global blueberry will hold.

Logistics in debt

In Chile, many things need to improve, such as logistics, not just shipping companies (logistics refers to the entire movement of fruit from harvest to the time it reaches the supermarket and is available to the consumer). This is where improvements need to be made.

And it's not just about a container or a shipping company; it's about how we transport the fruit internally, how long it takes to inspect it, how we inspect it, how long it takes to unload it at its destination, and how long it takes to transport it to the final consumer.

So, of course, one can say I have a container that takes twenty days to get to the United States, yes, but it reaches a consumer's table in forty, also or forty-five, because I have to take into account the days from when it was harvested until it arrived at its destination.

So, there are many things that, given that Chile is a country with an export culture, I think there are processes that we need to review and improve, because there's no room for error anymore.

We have to be incredibly efficient and precise in our logistics, because every day counts for our fruit.

Every day counts, and our competitors are getting closer to the markets, so we have a lot to do, we have opportunities, but we have to apply ourselves much more than before, and that will allow us to continue competing.

– And in terms of genetics? What do you think would be the keys to Chile remaining competitive in the global blueberry market?

– Well, in genetic terms, today we, as the Blueberry Committee, have made a very good classification of varieties. Based on experience and all the information we gather in the markets of origin and destination, we have been able to determine that there are varieties that have great potential to reach the final consumer well and varieties that have very poor potential.

And in that sense, we must be strict on this issue and understand that what we have concluded is based on information, experience, numbers, and many years of study. Therefore, when we say that there are varieties that don't compete because they're out of fashion, let's put it that way, it's a fact. It's not just us saying it, it's our clients saying it too, at the destination. They already know very well which varieties work and which don't. They have very good information.

While many years ago they were generic blueberries, today blueberries are recognized by variety. In some countries, like England, they put a clamshell, the label, and the origin, perhaps not so much in the United States. But supermarket buyers do know which varieties work and are very up-to-date and aware of the new genetics coming out and the genetics our competitors are providing.

Today, varietal replacement isn't easy in Chile, and it's expensive and takes much longer because our production process is much slower, as we have a very pronounced winter, and the plants have to rest. But in Peru, they don't rest, so the entire process is faster. So, what a Peruvian achieves in ten months, we can't achieve, sometimes not even in four years.

New genetics will allow us to achieve greater productivity, a slightly earlier ripening period, but above all, important traits. It's not us who say this, it's the market who says it. There are varieties available to customers with larger, firmer, and tastier fruits.

McLaren Level

Last week in the United States, I had the opportunity to buy a blueberry from Morocco, spectacular. Morocco wasn't going to the United States; now it's going to the United States, meaning more competition. And let's not forget Mexico, which may not be growing at the same rate as Peru, but Morocco is said to be growing and has the potential to grow even more than Peru. So the market is going to be full of blueberries, and what we have to do is prepare ourselves and have a product that can compete at any level.

I mean, we no longer depend on the weather, the window... no, here if we're going to compete, we have to be at the level of what McLaren or Red Bull are today. We can't be last or race with a Formula 2 engine. If we're in those conditions, we'll have our place, because Chile has a reputation.

Chile's flavor is a fundamental characteristic. If we manage to produce good genetics, the unique characteristics of our climate will allow us to have a tastier and more competitive product.

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