Homegrown Organic imports Chilean blueberries

Overview of the organic blueberry season in conversations with Scott Mabs from Homegrown Organic Farms, complemented by charts from Agronometrics. Original published on June 29, 2020.

Homegrown Organic Farms is partnering with Valles del Sur, a Chilean grower, to import organic blueberries.

“Solidifying an import program has been part of our strategic plan for several years, and we are excited to partner with Valles del Sur for the 2020-21 blueberry import season,” Scott Mabs, chief executive officer, said in a news release.

Blueberries will be imported October through March, the off-season of California and Oregon, offering blueberries year-round.

“This new partnership is going to give us a single source program with unmatched consistency throughout the entire supply chain,” Stephen Paul, category director, said in the release.

The Fair Trade USA-certified fruit will be grown in the northern and southern regions of Chile and packed in California.

“The team in Chile greatly aligns with the mission, vision and values of Homegrown and operates in a very similar method of business,” Mabs said in the release. “Together we are excited to bring their product to the U.S. market and better serve our customers with a more robust organic blueberry program.”

Harvest started 11 days earlier than normal on May 28 at Finley south of Pasco. But rain and cool weather slowed crop progression, resulting in “the slowest start to harvest we have seen since 2013, which was the last time we had a rain-shortened crop,” said B.J. Thurlby, president of Northwest Cherry Growers.

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

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