IN CHILE, INCREASED COMPETITION AND INCREASED CONSUMPTION 

With a small local economy, Chile, the second largest blueberry producing country in the world, knew long ago its future was in exports and it developed its industry accordingly, according to Andres Armstrong, executive director of the Chilean Blueberry Committee.

Andres Armstrong, executive director of the Chilean Blueberry Committee, at the Oregon Blueberry Conference, talks about challenges and opportunities for the Chilean blueberry industry.

Growers, who largely produce their fruit for export opportunities in counter season markets, know ahead of time where their blueberries are headed and how to meet maximum residue levels and other food safety requirements of different international markets, Armstrong said.

It also has helped the Chilean blueberry industry that Chile embraces free trade. “We are not a threat to any big economy, so we probably have more free-trade agreements than any country in the world,” he said.

During a presentation at the Oregon Blueberry Conference in Salem, Armstrong said that despite its numerous free-trade agreements, the Chilean blueberry industry is facing several challenges as it maneuvers for market share in a changing international arena.

Among challenges is an increase in world blueberry production, including in Peru, Morocco and Mexico, whose industries are generally complementary to Chile’s, but at times compete for market share in Chile’s early-season and the late-season windows, where the countries’ shipments tend to overlap.

Also, of late, Chilean cherries have posed a challenge. “There are a lot of cherries in the market,” he said, “which presents us with a challenge.”

Chile’s distance from markets provides a challenge for fresh market shipments, he said, given that it takes three to six weeks by boat for product to arrive at markets in China and Europe. And, he said, labor is an issue. “The good thing this year regarding labor is there was a lot of immigration,” he said. “Otherwise, it would have been difficult to harvest our production.” Also, he said, “the climate is always a challenge. We need to adapt to understand the soils and our changing climate. It is always difficult to inform customers about shipment timings.”

As for opportunities, Armstrong said the European markets offer excellent opportunity for growth, and both the Peruvian and Chilean blueberry industries are significantly increasing exports to those destinations, as well as to Asia and North America.

“This season, both Peru’s and Chile’s biggest growth is in Europe,” he said. “We have a similar situation in North America and Asia, but with lower levels of growth.”

More than 13 percent of Chile’s shipments to the U.S. this season will be organic, he added, marking a significant increase over previous seasons, as new blueberry fields complete the organic-transition process.

Still, organic sales from some parts of Chile are hindered by the phytosanitary requirements that call for fumigation of berries to protect against the spread of the European grapevine moth. “We are working with the USDA on mitigation measures that allow us to get to the U.S. market without the risk of bringing in a new pest,” he said.

As for prices, Armstrong said they are well up this year over last year. “Last season, prices were a problem,” he said. “We had huge inventories. People that had a better season last year were the ones who were in the last part of the season, as the crop was way ahead of normal.

“Overall, this season is much better than last year,” he said. “We have had a more stable and a better price this year, although far from a record price.”