The Chilean blueberry industry is undergoing a change of variety

According to the Chilean blueberry Committee's first season report for 2020 / 21, this season started three weeks earlier than usual, mainly from greenhouse blueberries and early maturing varieties. This year, Chile's blueberry season started slowly. From the 30th week (July 20-26), the output of Coquimbo in the fourth region is only one ton. It is expected that there will be a large supply of export market from mid November to mid February. 

blueberry

As of the 38th week of this year (September 14-20), Chile has exported 179 tons of fresh blueberries, mainly from the kokumbo region (72%), followed by Valpara í so (24%). EB 9-2 and Jewell are the main varieties, accounting for 18% of the total, while Ventura and emerald account for more than 13% of the total. However, there are only a few contributions to other varieties such as Aurora, Aurora, etc. As of last week, a total of 19 varieties were registered for export, showing the trend of variety change in Chile's blueberry industry.


In terms of market, the early exports were mainly aimed at the Far East market, with Asian market accounting for 54% of the 179 tons exported in the 30th to 38th week. In second place is North America at 44 per cent, with the remainder spread across Europe and the Middle East.


Another positive aspect of the season is the more abundant water resources in districts 5 (Valparaiso), metropolitan and region 6 (O'Higgins). The blueberry fruit body is expected to be larger this season as more rain and more snow cover in the mountain areas provide a breathing space for producers affected by last year's drought.