Argentina Blueberries 2018 business updates

Argentina president’s visit celebrates exports

Celebrating the country’s fresh and frozen export business, Argentina President Mauricio Macri visited blueberry farms in the country’s Tucuman province in August.

Argentina exports both fresh and frozen blueberries to the U.S., Canada, China and several European countries, according to a news release.

During his visit to blueberry fields, President Macri was accompanied by Juan Manzur, governor of the province and Francisco Estrada, president of the Association of Blueberry Producers of Tucuman, in addition to Federico Bayá, member of the Argentinean Blueberry Committee.

China is an emerging customer for Argentina blueberries, according to the release, and government officials are working to reduce the 30% tariff in that market.

Gourmet Trading to grow organic sales

Luciano Fiszman, blueberry category manager for the Los Angeles, Calif.-based Gourmet Trading Company, said the company expects to grow both conventional and organic blueberry sales.

“A few years ago organic was a quiet category,” Fiszman said. “Now more and more retailers are putting attention on organic product as people are asking for more of this. We are able to offer from Latin America a great window of fresh organic blueberries in a season that was not common years ago.”

Naturipe looks for strong season

Due to favorable winter weather, Naturipe’s blueberry crop out of Argentina is looking good with a crop down just slightly from last year, said Mario Flores, director of blueberry product management for Naturipe Farms LLC, Salinas, Calif.

Argentina is still anticipating an overall crop close to last year’s numbers of 22 million pounds, he sad.

Greater Argentina blueberry volume will be shipped to the U.S. by boat this year, he said.

“Some are speculating that as much as 50% to 60% of the fruit could be shipped to the U.S. by boat this coming season,” he said. That compares with previous seasons when perhaps 80% of the frit was shipped by air, he said.

While most blueberries from Argentina will be marketed from September to December, he said greater boat shipments will mean some arrivals in the first two weeks of January.

Argentina’s organic blueberry volume is increasing, with organic fruit accounting for perhaps 15% to 25% of total volume this year and continuing to show signs of growth.

The U.S. could receive about 60% of Argentina blueberry volume this year, he said.

New access to the Chinese market will send more fruit there, and Peru has put significant pressure on the U.S., so Argentina will also be sending more fruit to Europe than it has in the past, Flores said.

Sunny Valley looks for organic arrival in mid-October

Bob Von Rohr, marketing and customer relations manager for Sunny Valley International Inc., Glassboro, N.J. said the company tentatively expects the first air shipments into Miami in the second half of September.

The first Argentina organic blueberries shipped by ocean container are tentatively expected to begin in early to mid-October. The organic blueberries will arrive by sea in Philadelphia after a two-and-a-half week journey from Argentina, during which time they are cold treated.

Argentina shipments are expected from September through December.

Unitec launches Blueberry Vision 2 technology

Unitec is touting the success of it Blueberry Vision 2 technology.

The system, which already been installed in Peru, South Africa, the U.S. and Europe, makes it possible to view 100% of the fruit both internally and externally, according to a news release.

More information about the system can be found online.

Wish Farms increases custom packing

Wish Farms is bringing in most of its Argentina blueberry volume in bulk and custom packing in their Florida facility, said Teddy Koukoulis, director of blueberry operations for Wish Farms, Plant City, Fla.

The fruit is typically imported in 2.2-kilogram boxes and then custom packed, he said.

Wish Farms can pack in larger containers for box stores and smaller containers for other customers.

“Growers like the service, it gives flexibility with the customers and allows us to go through the fruit and ensure the highest quality,” he said. “We have been working with this process for a few years now and we have had tremendous success with it,” he said.