The first airfreight blueberry shipments from Argentina's main growing province took off recently with a total weight of 38 metric tons (MT) of the fruit destined for Miami.

Tucumán Association of Blueberry Producers (APRATUC) manager Guillermo Olivera told www.freshfruitportal.com the 96 pallets were sent from the Teniente Benjamín Matienzo International Airport, containing the varieties Snowchaser, Emerald and Spring High.

Olivera estimated around 6,000MT of fresh blueberries could be harvested from the province this campaign, but the amount exported would depend on demand in overseas markets.

"We had a benign winter compared to last year," he said.

He forecast a further 2,000MT of blueberries could be exported as frozen.

"IQF (instant quick freeze) blueberries have gone through a critical time for three years due to high stocks globally. That's why the volumes exported are very constrained, and are generally made of blueberries discarded from fresh selection lines," he said.

"The price isn't there to go and harvest for freezing. We don't believe they'll manage to export large volumes really."

He said Tucumán's peak production would come in weeks 42 and 43, with exports potentially continuing until weeks 46-48 depending on fruit condition and market prices.

"Meteorological conditions are accompanying a good start to the harvest, without rains or other events that could affect fruit quality to date," he said, highlighting excellent fruit coloring and firmness.

"We expect a uniform quality for the whole season."

Fresh Tucumán bluberries are sent to the U.S., the U.K., Europe and Canada, while smaller shipments are also made to Russia, Hong Kong and other Asian markets.

Olivera said the Tucumán-Miami flight took just eight hours.

"They are trying different stopover combinations to try to reach other destinations from Tucumán. This flight that went had a stopover in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Others have stopovers in Peru, Colombia, Barbados, etcetera.

"Tucuman has the qualitative advantage of being able to send blueberries from the Teniente Benjamín Matienzo International Airport, which since last year has a cold chamber that can hold fruit for three flights.

"Every year planes with greater capacity are coming. To give a few examples, Boeing 747s and Boeing 777 operated last year."

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