A group of five growers in north-central Chile plan to start blueberry exports this month, as part of a market development initiative grant from the government’s Technical Cooperation Service of Chile (Sercotec).

Under the moniker "Arándanos Choapa" (Choapa Blueberries) - named after the Choapa province - growers from Illapel and Salamanca in the IV (Coquimbo) region are set to produce 250 metric tons (MT) of the fruit through to early December.

"It came up as an associative initiative with the goal of trading the production of fresh blueberries in a direct and transparent way," explains Agricola Los Silos manager Jorge Esquivel, whose company forms part of the initiative.

The growers won Sercotec’s Market Development Initiatives (IDM) competition, which is a program aimed at modern varietal conversion, improving products’ image and quality controls, and providing access to appropriate infrastructure.

And the growers are not just interested in the traditional market of the United States. Esquivel told www.freshfruitportal.com that growers had established contact with Asia through a Sercotec-run trade mission.

"There were a series of meetings, a trip to Asia with two growers, and a trip to Chile from the general manager of a [Chinese] company to personally know the fields of every grower," he says.

"In the first stage, the idea is to export a minimum of 20,000kg (44,092lbs) of blueberries during the month of November, but this will demand on the condition of fruit on arrival.

"If we achieve good arrivals, the quantity of fruit that will be sent will be resolved in a combined way with the receiver."

However, while the initiative has moved at a very fast pace, Esquivel is cognizant of the steps that need to be taken to export successfully.

“We have to control all pre-harvest, harvest and postharvest practices to get a quality product. This includes productive management, opportune harvest timing and trained personnel, quick movement to cold storage, good packing management, good quality packaging materials and transparency with respect to the quality of the fruit sent.”

"We believe the key is to position a brand that is identified with appropriate quality standards that are kept over time. Together with this it is important that we have, in the short term, the capacity to send significant volumes with uniform quality.

He added that as a large and receptive market, Asia’s acknowledgment and acceptance of fruit types or varieties meant organizing trade with anticipation.

"It’s also a market that invites long term projections because it is willing to invest in growers of quality fruit."

www.freshfruitportal.com