Freshuelva is happy about the positive response of the Government of Brazil to the blueberry management systems proposed through the Spanish Government by the blueberry sector of the province of Huelva. It means that the fruit's marketing in the South American country has been greenlighted, thus opening an important market for which Freshuelva has been preparing for years.
Last November, a delegation of Brazilian inspectors learned about the blueberry production systems in the province of Huelva through a visit to the blueberry farms of the associated companies of Freshuelva Euroberry and Grupo Medina.
The objective of that visit was precisely to verify compliance with the requirements established in the export protocols that were being negotiated for the opening of the Brazilian market to the fruit's exports.
The process for the opening of new markets in third countries to Spanish fruit and vegetable exports requires the signing of specific protocols. One of the requirements is a visit to the farms of the Spanish companies interested in exporting, in order to corroborate compliance with the phytosanitary requirements that will be established in said protocols.
Freshuelva, which took part through Fepex in the organization of that visit, carried out with the collaboration of the Council of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of Andalusia, has shown its "satisfaction" with the completion of the last procedure that will allow the marketing of blueberries in Brazil.
The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, together with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, is the one handling the negotiation and signing of export protocols with the corresponding authorities of third countries. This work is carried out in coordination with the sector, which reports the products it wants to export and where it would like to ship them within the framework of the Working Group on fruits and vegetables for the opening of new markets.
In addition to the opening of the Brazilian market, Freshuelva is working on the processing of other applications to allow the export of blueberries to other countries, such as Canada, India or China.
During the past season, the province of Huelva exported almost 55,000 tons of blueberries, which represented a slight 2% drop compared to the previous season. This fruit reached a value of almost 317 million Euro; an increase of more than 14% compared to the previous season.
For more information:
Freshuelva
C/ Manuel Sánchez RodrÃguez, 1, 21001, Huelva, Spain
Tel.: +34 959 248222
Fax: +34 959 258373
www.freshuelva.es