Tag: blueberries

Despite inclement weather characterized by torrential rains and seasonal flooding, the Peruvian agricultural sector made substantial progress during the first quarter of 2023 (January-March), according to a report by the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri).

The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) today launched the BerrySmart Insights platform for fresh blueberries, an automated, voluntary production and historical price database that more accurately measures production, inventory and pricing, with a weekly report on supply, demand, inventory and shipments.

This growth follows what the industry has experienced in recent years: while between 2015 and 2018 the volume did not exceed the threshold of 100,000 tons in the year, in 2019, prior to the pandemic, shipments rose to around 125,000 tons and this year is close to 290,000.

The U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC) have selected Kristy Babb as their new communications director.

In the first two months of 2023, Peruvian exports by air reached 14,502 tons, reflecting a contraction of 2.1 percent compared to the volume shipped in the same period of the previous year, according to ComexPerú.

In 2022, Peru was the world’s leading exporter of blueberries with $1.36 billion in value, surpassing the U.S., Spain, Canada, the Netherlands, and Morocco, according to the Research Center for Global Economy and Business of the Association of Exporters (CIEN-ADEX).

Up for the third week, overall produce prices are still technically following typical week #14 trends. Although, the storms that drenched California and filled the Sierras with snow will likely unfold as higher-than-normal produce prices over the next few months.

From the beginning of the 2022/2023 campaign in June to March 12, Peru exported 283,000 tons of fresh blueberries, reflecting an increase of 30 percent versus in the same period the previous campaign.

During the period January-February 2023, a total of 738,000 tons of Chilean fruit exports were registered, for a value of $2.547 billion FOB, reflecting an increase in the volume exported of 14.3 percent, and in value of 7.3 percent, when compared to the same period last year.

The annual transition northward from areas such as Brawley, CA, back to Salinas, CA, is behind schedule. Growers in the South will attempt to prevent a gap in production by extending the harvest.