Argentina blueberry frost

The frost which hit Argentina’s north-western blueberry-producing region of Tucumán on 23 July is estimated to have cut the national export crop by 5 per cent this season, according to local sources.

“Argentina’s total export volume was estimated at approximately 12,000 tonnes for the entire 2009/10 season, but this has now been revised downwards by around 5 per cent,” Felipe Rodríguez, general manager of Tecnovital, Argentina’s largest blueberry supplier, told Fruitnet.com.

The freezing weather hit during week 30 when an unusual polar weather front covered most of Argentina. While the southern blueberry-producing regions Concordia and Entre Ríos, escaped major damage, around 5-10 per cent of early production was lost in Tucumán.

“Unfortunately, the earliest fruit was lost but the overall blueberry crop hasn’t been affected severely in terms of volume,” added Marcelo Zanchetti of Berries del Plata. “It’s estimated that 5-10 per cent of the crop,close to 500 tonnes, has been lost in Tucumán. Only the high areas of production and those growers with frost protection systems escaped the majority of the damage.”

The season will begin very slowly, on around 15 September, before getting up to speed by mid-October. Weather conditions are reportedly back to normal with only some slight rainfall, meaning fruit quality is expected to be very good.