Jorge Pazos, president of the Argentine Blueberry Committee (ABC), explained to FreshFruitPortal.com that climatic issues, including a cold front in the productive areas, have delayed the start of the country’s blueberry season.

“We had frosts that generated some losses, which we estimate could be around 10%,” he said.

He explained that smaller Peruvian supplies pose a good commercial opportunity despite the forecasted production decline. Last season, a similar situation allowed Argentina to ship all its fruit via air.

“This year it seems that we will have a similar situation because production has been delayed in Peru and Argentina as well,” said Pazos.

The executive explained that up to week 35 a total of 151 tons have been shipped, which represents 30% less than last year.

“This is clearly due to climatic factors since we had many days of frost and that does not allow the fruit to ripen,” he stressed.

Despite the frosts that affected the crop, the sector leader pointed out that in September so far there have been good temperatures, and “we already have fruit that is being shipped by air to the different markets”.

The Argentine blueberry industry started the season this week, sending fruit mainly to the United States, with a total of 62 tons to date, in second place is Continental Europe with 29 tons, followed by the United Kingdom with 19 tons, Asia with 13 tons and other destinations with 28 tons.

Projections

When asked about the season's projections, Pazos said, “We foresee probably having a season with 6,000 tons of exports, which would represent a decrease, since last year we had 6,300 tons”.

Currently, Argentina is in production in the areas of Tucumán and the axis of the Argentine coast, which are Entre Río and Corrientes. Then comes the later area, which is Buenos Aires.

As for prices, Pazos indicated that to date they are reasonable. “They have not skyrocketed, as the other blueberry-producing countries from the southern hemisphere project to export about 450,000 tons, probably from Argentina, Chile, Peru, Uruguay, and South Africa.”

He also explained that they project peak production between the 40th and 44th week, “where we have 3 to 4 weeks where the fruit is concentrated. So far we have healthy and favorable fruit. There are no sanitary problems and I think we are projecting that the cold weather will diminish”.

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