Chile leading the volumes of blueberry exports to the US

Chile, the first country to initiate blueberry production in Latin America, is reaching the peak of its production in the current season, leading daily blueberry exports to the United States to date, according to data from the Agronometrics platform.

The southern country had a tough start to the season, starting later than previous years given the problems it has faced with the supply chain. Although the producing areas have easy access to ports, Chile is further away from its main markets, USA, Europe and China, than the rest of its competitors.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

Problems with shipping have affected not only the cost of their supplies, but also the time it takes to travel. Faced with this situation, the exporters have been more meticulous with the choice of the fruit that they would send to distant markets, making sure that it would withstand the longest possible travel time without losing its quality. Finally, since the third week of the year, Chilean blueberries have been able to take over the US market.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

Comparing the start of this season with previous ones, Chile has shipped more volume of fruit to the US than it has in previous years. According to the weekly Bulletin of the Blueberry Committee, in January, a higher number of average weekly exports was registered, compared to previous periods, its main market being the US, where it has exported 46% of the total volume of the season so far.

However, the initial trend was reversed and the speculations have become a reality: the amount of Chilean blueberries exported daily to the North American country decreased at the beginning of February, and is less than that exported during the 2020/2021 season. These figures do not reflect the country’s production, but rather the difficulties it has had to overcome.

The decrease in Chilean exports stands out in a market where the volume of imported Peruvian blueberries exceeded records in recent months. Peru came to represent more than 90% of the blueberries imported daily into North America during October.

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

With Peru’s season ending, it is Chilean blueberries that currently occupy the US market. The last week of January saw exponential growth, going from shipping 2,602 to 4,440 tons in just 7 days, an increase of 70.63%. Even with the drop in volumes during the first week of February, Chile remains the leading supplier of the berry in the US.

Price

The average value of blueberries in the US has been on a downward trend since the peak of the Chilean season began. According to data from USDA Market News (portal of the US Department of Agriculture) and Agronometrics, during the current season the Chilean berry had a peak price of $9.07 Kg/USD on January 20, a figure above the daily maximum that was  reached in 2021, when it did not exceed $8 kg/USD.

Volume of Chilean Blueberries Exported to the US compared to the Average Price

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.
(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)

The News in Charts is a collection of stories from the industry complemented by charts from Agronometrics to help better tell their story.