2023/24 Chilean blueberry exports defy expectations with a smaller decline

According to Andrés Armstrong, executive director of the Chilean Blueberry Committee of Frutas de Chile, the current export forecast for 2023/24 stands at approximately 80,000 metric tons. This is similar to the 82,000 metric tons projected at the start of the season but a marked improvement on the more recent estimate of 73,500 metric tons. Although the export volume is still increasing, ending the current campaign with around 80,000 metric tons of blueberries shipped overseas would represent an 8.5% decline from the 2022/23 season. Armstrong described this season as exceptionally difficult in terms of forecasting export volumes, citing various factors that have hampered the evaluation. First, weather conditions hindered berry growth, then high shipment volumes were concentrated in just a few weeks, and now the season appears set to last longer than the year before, he explained. From week 44 of 2023 to week 3 of this year, Chile exported 61,707 metric tons of blueberries, which ...