Argentina’s 2010/11 blueberry exports have arrived on export markets two weeks earlier than last season with a larger supply than anticipated, according to the Argentinean Blueberry Committee.
Sendings during week 42 (18 to 24 October) were up by 400 tonnes (reaching 1,140 tonnes) on the same period last year, causing prices to fall considerably by the end of the week, the Committee said in a press release.
Aside from the larger volume, the downturn was attributable largely to a contraction in demand, coupled with a lack of in-store promotions for the fruit, which have not yet begun.
Despite the earlier-than-normal start, the Committee said it expects total exports of blueberries from Argentina in 2010/11 to match expectations of between 12,000 tonnes and 12,500 tonnes, up from 10,473 tonnes last season.
Supplies during the rest of this season are forecast to be stable, and once promotions get underway next week the Committee predicts that fruit will move more quickly and stocks will clear.
So far this season, Argentina has shipped 2,214 tonnes of blueberries, compared with 1,213 tonnes in 2009/10, according to Committee data.
Of that total, some 1,648 tonnes were sent to the US, with 469 tonnes headed to the European Union and 90 tonnes to Asia.
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