The Chilean blueberry export campaign has come to a close, with total volume in 2010/11 rising by 7 per cent against the original season forecast.
“Our total 2010/11 export volume was additionally impressive with over 69,000 tons shipped worldwide –that’s 39 per cent over last year’s total,” explained Andrés Armstrong, executive director of the Chilean Blueberry Committee.
According to the latest crop report published by iQonsulting for the Committee, shipments during the final week of the season (Week 12) totalled 541 tonnes, pushing up the overall output to 68,376 tonnes, compared with 49,793 tonnes last season.
The Committee said the Chilean blueberry industry has recorded solid success in North America in particular.
“In Canada alone, Chilean blueberry imports are expected to top the 48 per cent increase in volume over last season,” stated Mr Armstrong.
US volume, meanwhile, will reach 58,100 tonnes, which is a 43 per cent growth over last year’s 40,700 tonnes.
“The largest US gain was in West Coast shipments where we expect to see exceed a 64 per cent increase by season’s end,” commented Tom Tjerandsen, North American director of sales and marketing for the Chilean Fresh Fruit Association and the Blueberry Committee.
“The continuing recognition and promotion of blueberries’ extraordinary health benefits have made their year-round availability a major factor in the burgeoning consumer demand – Chile fills the seasonal gap,” added Mr Tjerandsen.
The Committee said it has also seen “remarkable in-store volume increases “when and where retailers offer a variety of pack sizes to maximize their blueberry sales.
“In Canada and in every region of the US our research shows that retailers who consistently marketed both a small and large size package of blueberries along with other berries, and who aggressively promoted blueberries from January through April, sold more than double the amount of blueberries compared to other retailers,” explained Mr Tjerandsen.
The 2010/11 Chilean blueberry campaign has been an “extraordinary season” in terms of volume and export coordination, according to the Committee.
“Weather allowed for Chile’s potential for this crop to be expressed, and even though adverse weather conditions were occasionally registered during the spring, production was not significantly affected,” the organisation explained in its report.
Nevertheless, the Committee said the most relevant event was the higher degree-days accumulation, causing harvests to start early in the central and south zones.
Meanwhile, the difference between actual volumes and estimates was a result of higher export volumes in the south-central and south zones, most likely due to a miscalculation of the blueberry plantation acreage in these regions – a factor the Committee admitted it will have to consider in future estimates.
Looking ahead to the 2011/12 season, the Committee said production could be affected in areas where temperatures rose over 35oC during January and February 2011.
By 2014/15, Chile expects its blueberry exports to grow to an impressive 150,000 tonnes given that many plantations are yet to reach their peak production capacity.
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