The Chilean Blueberry Committee and the Ministry of Agriculture undertook an intense campaign to promote their country's blueberries this season in several European countries, under the slogan "Blaubeere aus Chile" (in German) or "Blueberries from Chile."

The program has sought to increase the sales and reach of Chilean blueberries in countries like Germany, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Russia and the Netherlands by educating consumers on availability, quality, product safety and ways to consume the fruit.

Promotional activity in Germany was focused this year between weeks four and nine, mainly in the Real chain and in Edeka and Karstadt.

"During the first week, a sales increase was recorded from 12,000 to 181,000 clamshell units, which made it one of the most successful campaigns implemented by the Department of Fruits and Vegetables," the committee said.

When asked about the German market, committee manager Andrés Armstrong told www.freshfruitportal.com that in terms of volume, the country is one of the top European destinations.

"It is difficult to measure the exact volume since the majority of European volume arrives to the Netherlands and then it is not possible to know where it is exported to again," Armstrong said.

Armstrong commented that the German consumer has a close relationship to blueberries since the country produces its own fruit and consumes it when it is in season.

"Our activity has been focused on showing the availability of Chilean blueberries during the European winter, which is the Chilean season. We also want to highlight quality and safety, which are sensitive topics for the German consumer," he said.

Chilean fruit had an overall good reception in Europe, although Armstrong said there were times when the fruit had poor quality due to unfavorable weather conditions.

"What we have seen in the last few seasons is that European and Asian markets grow more rapidly year after year. We believe it is the fruit of our promotional activities for Chilean blueberries that we have developed there over the past five seasons," he said.

According to Armstrong, shipments to Europe grew 26% in the last season, accounting for 17% of total exports.

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