The US market is eagerly anticipating blueberries from South America as the berry season begins to shift southwards.
Major supplier California Giant Berry Farms says a notable change in the marketing outlook is the early demand for blueberries from European receivers and the strong worldwide demand for processed fruit, as well as the opening up of the Chinese market to Chilean blueberries.
Despite the rise in demand, Cal Giant’s South American volume is expected to increase for the company by more than 50 per cent over last year.
“This marks as the fifth season for California Giant blueberries in South America with acreage and volume expected to increase significantly again this year,” the company said in a press release.
To accommodate the volume increase, California Giant is investing in infrastructure with more staff, equipment, facilities and marketing focus.
California Giant’s growers in Argentina are expecting a strong blueberry crop beginning in early October with a peak in the first three weeks of November.
This crop will transition directly into Chilean blueberry season, which is scheduled to begin in November and carry the company into the spring of 2012.
Nader Musleh, general manager in Chile for California Giant will lead the programme in that region while Cristin Flamini is managing the crop in Argentina.
“We see blueberry consumption continuing to rise each year and more real estate dedicated to them in the produce department”, said sales vice-president Anthony Gallino.
“Our customers continue to demand quality and availability, so we are responding with increases in volume each year and partnering with key growers to build a quality blueberry programme complementing our year-round strawberries,” Gallino added.
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