The Argentinean blueberry industry is gearing up to export to the US its first fruit of the season, with airfreight shipments set to begin during the week beginning 3 October.
Total air and sea sendings to the US market are forecast to rise to more than 11,000 tonnes in 2011/12, according to the Argentinean Blueberry Committee’s (ABC) pre-season crop report.
In the past five years, Argentina’s blueberry exports to the US have tripled with the majority of the fruit entering the country through the Port of Miami, ABC said.
And with this season’s newly launched “blueberry route,” Argentinean blueberries will be the first off-season product to reach the US market, flown directly to stores and thereby extending the availability of fresh fruit from autumn into winter.
Argentina’s blueberry season will begin in the Tucumán region, followed by Concordia in October and finishing in the Buenos Aires region in November when harvesting reaches its peak, ABC manager Inés Peláez explained in the report.
ABC’s pre-season crop report provides the latest volume information to allow US retailers to plan berry promotions for the autumn.
Once the season is underway, the committee will continue to provide on a regular basis up-to-date export figures and volume projections.
The full report on the 2011/12 Argentinean blueberry season will be published in the October/November issue of Americafruit Magazine.
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