On November 12, 2020, the first container of Chilean blueberries shipped by sea arrived in Shanghai. This shipment of blueberries from Giddings Fruit was imported by Pengsheng Industrial, one of China's leading blueberry importers, which so far has imported and sold more than 100 containers of blueberries this season. The arrival of this batch marks the end of Giddings air shipments and the start of sea shipments to meet Chinese consumer demand for Chilean blueberries.
The two companies have been operating a business model that uses air freight to position the brand among Chinese consumers until ocean shipments hit the market. The blueberries shipped by air are mainly supplied to high-end supermarkets such as Ole, City'super, and Rain Dew, and have a retail price of 35 yuan per box.
“Years of cooperation have enabled Pengsheng and Giddings to trust and cooperate with each other. Today, the arrival of our first container of Chilean blueberries by sea also marks the official start of this year's Chilean blueberry season,” said Deng Lingjun, a partner at Shanghai Pengsheng.
Giddings Fruit plans to export 800,000 tons of blueberries to Asia and China in the current season. The company forecasts that it will grow by 10% in China.
Best Prices
Blueberries currently show favorable signs of recovery in the market. In previous weeks this fruit registered unusually low prices due to the large volume of fruit from Peru and its unsatisfactory sweetness, especially before the shopping day on 11.11, which allowed decreasing the existing fruit stock with a positive impact on market prices.
Even though the United States continues to be the main destination market for Chilean blueberry exporters, last season Asia and Europe grew by 20% and 8%, respectively. Chilean exporters hope to diversify their exports and Asian markets represent an increasingly attractive destination for premium fruits, such as blueberries.
Forecasts for the current season indicate that Chilean blueberry production will increase by approximately 2% over the last season, amounting to 155,000 tons.
Source: producereport.com / simfruit.cl