With the first “Blueberry Day”, the Blueberry Committee of Frutas de Chile officially kicked off the fruit's 2024-25 season.

The activity took place at Hortifrut's Virquenco field, where representatives of the sector and authorities met, including the Chilean Minister of Agriculture, Esteban Valenzuela, and the U.S. Ambassador to Chile, Bernadette M. Meehan.

Two important announcements were made during the meeting: the launching of the 'Blueberry Committee's Seal of Belonging', and the promising and growing increase in plantings of new varieties that affect the estimates for the 2024-25 season.

According to the first estimate of the Chilean Blueberry Committee, delivered by the president of the entity, Ruy Barbosa, the country expects to export 135,501 tons, 3.2% more than the previous year. Of the total, 80,5012 tons will be of fresh blueberries (-6.7%) and 55,000 tons of frozen blueberries (+22.2%).

“This drop of almost 7% in fresh blueberry exports is not bad news for us but reflects the varietal replacement that is taking place in the industry, which will allow us to deliver better fresh blueberries to the markets. New varieties within this season's shipments are expected to increase by 26%, amounting to more than 16 thousand tons,” he said.

In the case of the 'Sello de Pertenencia del Comité de Arándanos de Chile', Barbosa said that it will be the hallmark of the Committee's members in international markets.

“It is a tool for building our repositioning in the markets. It represents the Committee's member companies that are implementing best practices and renewing varieties to arrive in a good way, make a difference in the market, and deliver better quality blueberries every day,” he said.

“The central objective is to convey confidence and security to our customers. This seal seeks to become a key element for the dissemination and strengthening of the image of Chilean blueberries,” Barbosa emphasized.

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Blueberry Day

Iván Marambio, president of Frutas de Chile, stressed that the importance of the first 'Blueberry Day' was that it positions Chile in the world blueberry orbit “so that the world can see what the Chilean blueberry industry is doing, especially in relation to the renewal of new varieties, the improvement of the logistics chain, the implementation of better and greater technology, in sustainability and what we are doing to increase the consumption of blueberries in the world.”

The leader of the fruit growers thanked the Minister of Agriculture and the U.S. Ambassador for their presence and support: “We have always said it; we are a team, because we have always had the support of Minister Valenzuela and his team, and as a sector, we are grateful for that.”

“Just as we also appreciate the willingness to participate in our activities that Ambassador Meehan has always shown, especially because she represents the United States, the main market for about 50% of our blueberries and the main destination for our fresh fruits in general.”

“Such is the depth of this relationship that today, in the United States, Andrés Armstrong, executive director of the Committee, is receiving recognition for his contribution to the growth of blueberry consumption from the North American Blueberry Council of the United States,” said Marambio.

Likewise, the president of Frutas de Chile did not miss the opportunity to express the desire of Chilean blueberry growers to extend the Systems Approach to new regions of the country.

“It is extremely necessary to be able to advance to the regions of O'Higgins and Maule, after four seasons in which the Systems Approach has operated successfully in the regions of Ñuble and Biobío,” he said.