The favorable climate and soil conditions in Chile have enabled the production of an array of blueberry species during the counter-season to Northern Hemisphere markets, which means it is a significant seasonal advantage.
In the past, Chile found itself as a virtually solitary provider of counter-season blueberries. "Chile initially was almost alone in the market as a counter-season blueberry supplier, owing to limited blueberry varieties and a lack of global competitors. As time progressed, new blueberry varieties emerged, and additional production regions emerged worldwide, notably in Peru, Mexico, Morocco, and Southern China. These emerging competitors altered the market dynamics, necessitating adaptation on Chile’s part," says Andrés Armstrong, Executive Director of the Chilean Blueberry Committee.
“In the last two seasons, Chile has been reducing its blueberry fresh export volumes. This season we anticipate a 6% drop in our fresh exports out of Chile. This reduction primarily stems from the reducing exports of specific blueberry varieties in the market. These varieties are either being redirected to the frozen market or altogether removed from cultivation. The replacement process for these varieties is a time-consuming endeavor, ” says Andrés.
Source: internationalblueberry.org