Industry Ramps Up Market Promotions in Southeast Asia

A $175,000 Specialty Crop Block Grant is helping Oregon blueberry growers promote their product in Southeast Asia this year.

In early July, the Commission backed a promotional trip to the Philippines and Vietnam hoping for long-term benefits and to increase interest in fresh Oregon blueberries ahead of the 2022 shipping season. And the Commission is following that up with a possible second promotional trip next spring, focusing on Singapore and Malaysia.

This summer’s trip included visits with leading retailers, importers and government officials in both the Philippines and Vietnam, according to Eric Rosenberg of Bryant Christie, a Seattle-based consulting firm. Rosenberg represented the Oregon Blueberry Commission on the trip.

“Leading retail companies were excited to bring in blueberries from the United States,” Rosenberg said in an interview with Oregon Blueberry Newsletter in September. “But these are new markets for fresh blueberries, and it always takes a little bit of time when a market newly opens for shippers to establish business relationships with importers and distributors and the retail communities in those markets.” In addition, Rosenberg said, issues with logistics challenges and high costs due to the pandemic have impacted market development.

The Philippines signed a market access agreement for fresh Oregon blueberries in 2018, just after Vietnam signed a similar agreement. Issues with COVID prevented representatives from visiting the countries in 2020 and 2021, so much of the industry’s efforts the past two years has involved online marketing, retail signage and similar outreach.

“We sprinkled a little bit of grant resources into those markets for promotions with the retail sectors,” Rosenberg said. “This year we are really trying to ramp up promotions and also pay the markets a visit.”

Much of the effort this year is focused on education, informing consumers of the health benefits of blueberries and their versatility as an ingredient.

“Certainly, people consume blueberries fresh,” Rosenberg said, “but we want them to also consider their versatility as toppings for yogurt, cereal, baked goods and ice cream.”

The industry also is looking to showcase blueberries in in-store sampling.

“The best way to inform a new consumer about a product that they may not have a lot of familiarity with is to give them an opportunity to taste it,” Rosenberg said.

Fresh blueberries have been making their way into Vietnam through the gray market, primarily through China, for many years, Rosenberg said, but Southeast Asia consumers are still relatively unfamiliar with blueberries, but we’re rapidly making progress.

“It is not a totally unfamiliar product to the consumers over there, but the volume that is capable of going in when importers are able to deal with the product legitimately goes up, and the opportunity to expand distribution really expands,” he said.

“We have good partners in these markets,” he added. “Many of them are used to dealing with other fresh produce from the United States, whether it is apples or cherries or pears, and they are also carrying those same products from other suppliers around the world on a seasonal basis. And so, they are always looking to fill in a year-round availability of products that have been introduced.

“They might carry blueberries from New Zealand during their shipping season, but then they are looking to extend that with our shipping season, as well,” he said. “So, they are very eager to have our fruit and to promote it. They see a mutual benefit in this. We do many of these promotions in coordination with the importers and distributors. They help connect us to their buyers.”

High Tariffs

If there is a stumbling block to success in these markets for U.S. blueberries, it is high tariffs. “Tariffs are the big issue, certainly in Vietnam, for us,” Rosenberg said. “That was something that came across loud and clear on my trip to Vietnam.

“So many of our competitors that supply blueberries to Vietnam now have favorable market access and lower tariffs because they participated in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership,” Rosenberg said. “The United States is not so lucky, and our producers are going to continue to face tariffs going into Vietnam. So, there is a differential that already exists that favors other producers.”

For now, however, U.S. blueberry producers are in a favorable position, given that the U.S is one of only two blueberry suppliers that has negotiated market access for fresh blueberries with Vietnam.

“But that is going to change,” Rosenberg said. “Our competitors have requested market access and are currently negotiating with the Vietnamese government. So, at some point, other suppliers are going to get in and have a lower tariff that will give them an advantage over our producers.

“So, that is a big area of focus for our industry,” he said. “We are in discussions with U.S. government officials in hopes of trying to preserve competitiveness in this market.”

Right now, the only other country that has market access for fresh blueberries in Vietnam is New Zealand, which is counter seasonal to the U.S.

“Peru is a big competitor that would infringe heavily on the timeline for Oregon and Washington to ship over to Vietnam,” Rosenberg said. “And their blueberries are already getting in through China. But they do not have market access legally granted at this point. They have requested it and are negotiating for it but they don’t have it at this time.

“Canada is another competitor that does not have fresh access for blueberries but has requested it,” Rosenberg said.

The Philippines also imposes a tariff on U.S. blueberry imports, but the Philippines was not a part of the CPTPP negotiations. “In the Philippines, many of our competing suppliers face the same tariff issues we have, so they don’t necessarily have a market advantage like they do in Vietnam,” Rosenberg said.

As a final thought, Rosenberg said he believes there is a good potential for U.S. blueberry growers in both Vietnam and the Philippines. “But I think trade policy is a big equalizer when it comes to realizing potential. The U.S. is in a position where we could continue to lose out in the years ahead if we are not able to remain competitive from the tariff perspective with other suppliers.

“The Philippines is less of an issue at this point,” he said. “But in Vietnam, what we saw was a big opportunity for a new market for our shippers, and it is one that we are going to face tariff issues in in short order.”