Blueberry supplies have been quite extensive and sales difficult in recent weeks. Now, there's a turnabout in the market. "Production in Peru is already declining. The current market situation also means considerably less fruit is being sent to Europe. That's been said for a long time. But now we can actually see it in the statistics," says Roberto Latorre of CarSol Europe in the Netherlands.
"Supplies, are particularly in punnets are drying up now. Prices are suddenly climbing, which makes the outlook a lot more positive. It's been an exceptional year overall. Sales to the food services sector, among others, lagging significantly. And larger volumes having to pass through the retail 'funnel'. But sales to supermarkets are currently much calmer than in the first wave."
"We'll keep going with small quantities from Peru. From week 51, we're expecting the first new Chilean berries. Chile has about the same volume as in previous years," says Roberto. "However, people are investing more and more in new varieties. These are often exported to Europe. We're expecting a short, intense Chilean season. The peak should be slightly higher than in recent years."
According to Roberto, organic blueberries continue to sell well. "During this period, we import our organic berries from Argentina. At the beginning of the season, we received quite a lot of air freight. But the weather conditions remained good. So, more fruit has been sent by sea freight in recent weeks. We expect the first organic berries from Chile in week 1. The supply will probably be much more limited from mid-December," Roberto concludes.
For more information:
Roberto Latorre / Harro van Dam / Roelant Komen
CarSol Europe
Vlaardingen, Netherlands
Tel: +31 (0) 107 632 683
Email: hvandam@carsoleurope.nl
Email: rlatorre@carsoleurope.nl
Email: rkomen@carsoleurope.nl
Website: www.carsolfruit.com