The Chilean Fruit Exporters Association (ASOEX) and the Huelva Association of Strawberry Exporters and Producers, Freshuelva, have announced the creation of a new blueberry promotional campaign - featuring fruit from both sources – aimed at boosting consumption in Spain.
The joint promotion will cover the key blueberry export seasons for both countries, namely November to April and May to August.
The associations formally signed a collaborative agreement at the Fruit Attraction 2017 trade exhibition in Madrid on 19 October, where they announced their intention to both share information and undertake reciprocal visits during the campaign.
Both Chile and Freshuelva have been present as exhibitors at Fruit Attraction 2017, which took place at the Feria de Madrid conference centre from 18-20 October. Chile’s appearance marked the country’s fifth year running as an exhibitor at Fruit Attraction, and featured the participation of some 20 Chilean companies including a large delegation of blueberry exporters.
Charif Christian Carvajal, ASOEX’s marketing director for Europe and Asia, said the joint, generic promotion would take advantage of the “completely complementary” blueberry seasons in Chile and Spain. He explained that the campaign would feature a shared concept, and would see the two countries working closely with grocery retailers on the form of the promotions.
Carvajal said: “In recent seasons, our industry has been active in the Spanish market promoting our fresh fruit exports with different retailers and in new distribution channels like Madrid airport.
“But this agreement is a significant step forward in terms of promotions, especially as regards the b2b sector, which we have not actively promoted to before. This is going to be a very good platform for promoting our blueberries in Spain.”
Boosting consumption
Welcoming the signing of the accord, Ronald Bown, Chairman of the Board of ASOEX, said the organisation encouraged the bi-national collaborations between entities that are similar in their objectives and membership. “We especially encourage those agreements which have as their objective the exchange of information and knowhow, and promotional campaigns to develop overall consumption in the fruit category in Europe, Asia and the US,” he said.
“Although we have signed similar agreements all around the world, Spain has grown in terms of its importance as a market, so therefore we are especially happy to be signing this agreement.”
Andrés Armstrong, executive director of the Chilean Blueberry Committee, said: “The Chilean Blueberry Committee initiated talks with Freshuelva with the aim, from day one, of promoting fresh blueberries from Chile and Spain all across Europe. This is an important step towards making that a reality.”
Strong demand
Chile’s exports to Spain have increased impressively over recent seasons, aided by strong demand for products such as kiwifruit, avocados and table grapes. According to ASOEX’s own data, exports from Chile to Spain are forecast to reach 47,967 tonnes for the 2016-17 season compared with 37,503 tonnes for 2015-16; a 28% increase.
In terms of individual products, kiwifruit remains Chile’s top fruit export to Spain, recording a increase over 6% for 2016-17 (10,028 tonnes) from the season before (9,408 tonnes). More significant percentage increases were seen for table grapes and avocados, which grew by 66% (from 5,644 tonnes to 9,371 tonnes) and 61% (5,501 tonnes to 8,852 tonnes) respectively.
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