The protocols are set to be similar to in the U.S., which incidentally has received a greater share of Uruguay’s citrus exports this year due to citrus black spot (CBS) precautions in Europe.

Protocols have been finalized for Uruguayan citrus and blueberry shipments to China with only formalities remaining, according to a produce industry leader from the South American country.

Speaking with freshfruitportal.com, Uruguay’s Fruit Producers and Exporters Union (UPEFRUY) head Marta Betancur said the citrus protocol would be with cold treatment as in the arrangement with the U.S.

In blueberries, exporters would need to apply either cold treatment in transit or methyl bromide at origin.

“Both protocols are technically finished and are being translated for the signatures, so we are practically sure that this year we’ll at least have the first introductions of citrus fruit, in all species, and in blueberries,” Betancur said.

“The government is working on getting the signing done, and also the exporters already have their potential commercial channels open.

She said oranges had traditionally been the main citrus fruit in mind for China, making sure to export the larger-sized fruit demanded by the market.

But there is opportunity for other crops too.

“We’ve seen that South Africa has increased its mandarin exports significantly this year, and there are possibilities in several varieties of a good size for the Chinese market.

“It’s a big market that we have to work on, to show consumers your quality.”

In blueberries, she said a 60-40 split between the U.S. and Europe had switched in favor of the latter in the last two years, but it was still uncertain what type of volume would be bound for China.

“We have to analyze the Chinese market to see if there’s a window in the month of September as there is in other places, before Chile enters with large volumes.”

Citrus update

Aside from rains that slowed down and ultimately reduced Satsuma mandarin exports for Uruguay this year, pest concerns in Europe have changed the country’s citrus exports in a big way.

“Last year we had a lot of interceptions, more than 60, for a disease called citrus black spot, so there was a revision of the protocol and work is being done at the farm level and in packing,” Betancur said.

“Until yesterday we had not had any interceptions,” she said on June. 9.

She said some of the Satsumas which arrived in England showed signs of poor quality, but later the harvest “improved substantially” and there had been mostly dry conditions for the past month.

“We are sending a lot more fruit than in previous years to the United States, and until last week practically half the fruit was going to the American market, where we haven’t had any problems with quality.

“On the contrary, the fruit has arrived in good condition and is being sold at good prices.

“We are also exporting to Russia, something to the Middle East in what has been traditional with mandarins and lemons. We are also sending fruit to Brazil within America, and Canada which is a traditional market.”

In terms of Europe, she said the Netherlands had still been buying a lot of fruit, while citrus shipments had also gone to England, Spain, Italy and Greece.

She said the Satsuma deal had finished and now later easy peeler varieties like clementines, Nadorcotts and Ortanique were on their way.

“The sector is also working with new varieties as well, seedless, thinking mainly about the United States but also Europe, and they are also making efforts in patented varieties which will be available in the coming years,” she said.

“In oranges the Navel harvest just started – we have different Navel varieties until the Valencia variety comes in July-August, which will go through to late August.

“One of the main objectives is the diversification of markets – Uruguay has had a very high component in Europe, around 70-80% of all varieties depending on the year, but now we’re opening the spectrum to other destinations in Asia and the U.S. and Latin America too, working hard on market access with the government. It’s slow, but we’re advancing.”

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