A four-day strike by customs workers in Argentina which kicked off on 18 September has disrupted the country’s blueberry exports. A proportion of shipments scheduled for week 38 is being carried over to the following week, according to the Argentine Blueberry Committee, which adds that exporters have already taken the necessary precautions to ensure that fruit quality is not affected.
Further disruption is likely as the customs workers union has stated that if it does not reach an agreement with the government for a wage increase, it will stage another strike, this time of five days, from this Wednesday.
The 2013 blueberry season began in the second week of September with the first shipments from Concordia. Juan Scordia, president of the Blueberry Producers Association of Mesopotamia (Apama), said heavier volumes would be available from mid-October.
A total of 121 tonnes of blueberries were exported in week 37, of which approximately half were sent to the European market. Companies are reporting strong demand from Russian buyers in the wake of Moscow’s ban on EU agricultural products.
Nicolás Tretiak of BlueBerries SA noted that the date from which buyers in Russia had started purchasing Argentine blueberries was significantly earlier this year.
“We have been supplying Russia direct for four years, but they also source a proportion of their volume via Europe,” he said. “This year we are seeing much higher demand from the supermarkets for direct shipments.”
However, Scordia warned that growers face a challenging season because of higher production costs they face and difficulties in importing inputs. He also noted that growers affected by last year’s hailstorms still do not have access to soft loans which means that they have not been able to invest in anti-hail nets for the 2014 season.
