Last season was, historically, the worst year for fresh raspberries from Chile in terms of export volume. "Unfortunately, the volume of fresh raspberries was dramatically low," said Esteban Labra, commercial manager of Natural Choice, the largest exporter of fresh raspberry in Chile.
Labra said this had been due to various factors, including that the Chilean raspberry market depends solely on what happens abroad.
"If the European countries that produce frozen raspberry and the United States, which also produces a lot of frozen raspberries, have complications or low-years, then the stock of frozen fruit decreases and the demand for frozen raspberry from Chile increases and generates enormous speculation, and everyone buys at very high prices," he said.
"Last year the price per kilo of frozen raspberries got to be CLP $ 1,700, and these were fruits that had been swept, they hadn't even been selected. When prices are that high producers aren't interested in exporting fresh fruits."
"Unfortunately, we have lost most of the fresh window because we had no fruit. We're frustrated because there were many things we couldn't do, as there was no fruit because the producers didn't want to pack it. It's much easier for them to freeze the fruit, especially when the price is good."
"We even started paying CLP $ 3,300 per kilo of fresh raspberries but the producers still didn't want to pack it. Unfortunately, this is a double-edged sword, because if it's a good year for frozen raspberries the producers will do well, but if it's a bad year, then there's no better window than the one for fresh products."
Last season, Natural Choice exported about 10 tons of fresh raspberries, an amount that is much lower than the figures reported in the previous seasons.
"We exported a little more than five thousand boxes when we should have exported more than 120,000 boxes that year, " said Labra, who added that they had managed to export between 55,000 boxes and 120,000 boxes in previous years.
A year and a half ago, Natural Choice began a program with some producers to renew varieties that would enable them to be more competitive and have better fruit.
The company was able to get resources, via a commercial alliance with INDAP, so that some producers could plant new varieties.
"We did a process with the Amira ® variety and the truth is that the fruit, which still hasn't reached high volumes, is more substantial. It is a fruit that can yield a calibre that would allow us to compete. We won't have the huge volumes that we used to, but it will allow us have certain windows that will enable us to make business that is geared towards the small farmers. "
Labra said that they hoped to focus "on developing the producers who planted the Amira ® variety." He noted that they wouldn't have huge yield but that they would have an amount that would enable them to secure a certain amount of fruit to markets at certain times of the season. The idea is to maintain the Chilean raspberry's presence in the market.
"This year we'll have the first crops of this fruit and the possibility of differencing them and making specific shipments of them," he said.
"There's always a window that one can take advantage of, because there are always supermarkets that depend on the raspberries from California, and there are people who are interested in having a second choice. The problem right now, is that we are lacking quality," he said.
Source: Fresh Fruit Portal