According to the first estimate released by the Chilean Blueberry Committee-Asoex in conjunction with iQonsulting, in the 2023-2024 season, Chile will export 6% less fresh blueberry than in the previous year.
Chile has 18,071 hectares planted with blueberries this year, i.e. 2% less than in 2022. "This decrease in area is due to the uprooting of 1,164 hectares with old varieties with lower productivity and post-harvest life and the planting of 607 hectares of new varieties," stated Andrés Armstrong, executive director of the Blueberry Committee. "The hectares of new varieties, to date, exceed 20% of the planted area and should show more significant increases in production in the following seasons," he added.
Armstrong also said that varieties that have good productivity, but a weaker post-harvest, are being derived in greater proportion to the frozen food market. "It's an attractive alternative for producers," he said, adding that exports of the frozen product are expected to grow by 10%.
"It's still too early to know what impact the El Niño weather phenomenon will have on our production and harvest periods. To date, the intense rains in regions with large areas of blueberries occurred before flowering, so they have not had a great impact on production losses. On the other hand, the lower accumulation of cold hours, a phenomenon that has strongly affected the production of blueberries in Peru, will have a smaller impact in Chile, since it occurred in regions where blueberry production is not relevant in our country. We'll be monitoring on a weekly basis the possible impact that the rains, frost, and temperature changes associated with El Niño may have on the volumes to be exported from Chile," he said.
Source: simfruit.cl