Wish Farms expects Chilean blueberry volume for the 2023-24 season to be comparable to the previous season, says Nick Wishnatzki, public relations manager.
“The overall industry volumes are likely to be down due to pressure from Mexico and Peru, but our supplies should be relatively flat with last year out of Chile,” he said.
Wish Farms sources both conventional and organic fruit from Chile. The marketer’s supply of Chilean blueberries will start to arrive in mid-December and continue through the end of February.
“Our peak supply is expected arrive in the U.S. in late January through early February,” Wishnatzki said.
Wish Farms packs 50% of its Chilean blueberries in the U.S., ensuring the marketer has the appropriate quality and packing formats to service customers’ needs.
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Given the lower volume from Peru this season, Wishnatzki said he thinks retailers will most certainly be ready and willing to promote Chilean blueberries as soon as the inbound volume allows.
“The demand for Chilean blueberries could be very interesting this year given the bumpy start to the Peru season,” he said. “The Peru blueberry crop is much lighter than originally forecasted, and if this continues then it could be an opportunity for Chile to regain some traction into the world blueberry market. It will be very important for Chile to focus on quality in order to take advantage of this opportunity.”
After the first of the year, consumer demand for blueberries will grow, he said.
“Much like previous years, we will see a ‘healthy eating’ sales lift in January and look to continue pushing with retail ads through February,” he said.
