Frutas de Chile (formerly ASOEX) Blueberry Committee 's latest estimate is putting the country’s blueberry exports at 80,000 tons in 2023-24. The figure poses an 8.5% drop year-on-year, as unfavorable weather slowed harvests.

Executive Director Andrés Armstrong tells FreshFruitPortal.com that the committee needed to reevaluate their initial estimate as harvests slowed following peaks in production that lasted weeks.

"The end of the season is expected to be later. Thus, we expect to reach a volume very close to the 82 thousand tons projected at the beginning of the season, but higher than the last revision of the estimated volumes, which stood at 73,500 tons. We will close the season with a better varietal mix and better fruit quality, which has allowed us to improve our competitiveness in the destination markets," he adds.

He adds that this season has seen a 200% increase in air shipments, which is ”a clear sign of a low supply for the demand of this product for a few weeks.”

Markets

The latest estimate indicates that up to week 3, the accumulated export volume was 61,664 tons, which represents a 15.6% drop compared to the same period last season.

As for destination markets, the U.S. remains the top importer, taking approximately 24 thousand tons. Europe takes the second place, followed by Canada, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East,

Armstrong indicates that Chile had a peak in fresh blueberry exports with volumes above estimates and "from week 4-2024 there should be a decrease in weekly volumes".

Harvest

Chile’s central-south regions lead shipments, as they concentrate productive areas and have the appropriate weather for blueberry cultivation. 

"This zone is the one that contributes to the volume of the peak period. Between weeks 50 and 3, an average of 8,885 tons per week were shipped and weeks 51 and 2 marked the highest shipments since both bulked up due to the rescheduling of vessels from the previous week."

The southern regions, which usually come in last, have already begun harvesting but show a slight delay.

“Because of the delay, they are expected to have a slower and, therefore, longer term than the one observed last season, which ended abruptly. These good conditions could allow some more fruit to be exported fresh," adds Armstrong.