Chile's blueberry exports for week 48 (Dec. 4) exceeded forecasts by 38%, reaching 3,700 metric tons (MT) due to recent high temperatures.

The hot weather is expected to have a positive effect for week 49 (Dec. 11)  too with the Chilean Blueberry Committee predicting exports climbing to more than 5,000 MT.

"The increased temperatures have favored fruit ripening and entry into the peak season for some parts of the south central region ahead of what was expected," the committee said in its report for last week.

The southern zone is just starting to pick O'Neil and Duke varieties in the earlier harvests for IX (Araucanía) region.

The committee said it was expecting harvesting to reach its peak in the first few weeks of January.

Overall, this season got off to a slower start than the previous one due to earlier cold weather, which delayed the onset of harvesting in northern and south central regions of the country.

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