According to EastFruit representatives in Tajikistan, blueberries have been spotted for the first time on supermarket shelves in this country. Earlier, Tajikistan stayed away from this trendy and popular berry in recent years – there was almost no production or consumption of blueberries in the country.

Blueberries on the shelves were spotted in the chain of one of the leaders in food retail in Tajikistan, the Paikar supermarket. According to our audit of fruit and vegetable departments, Paikar far outstripped other supermarket chains in Dushanbe in terms of assortment in July 2021, so it is not surprising that blueberries appeared in the stores of this chain.

By the way, blueberries have come a long way to get on the shelves of the capital’s supermarket. They were brought from Peru to Russia by air, where they were packed in retail packaging, and along with other products sold in small volumes, were delivered by road to Tajikistan. The quality of blueberries was quite good.

The price of blueberries in Paikar was fixed at 39.5 TJS per 160 grams, which is equivalent to 246 TJS/kg, or $21.8 per kg. It is relatively inexpensive when compared to neighboring Uzbekistan, where blueberries have long been a popular berry among wealthy consumers. Prices for blueberries range from $30 to $40 per kg there, even during the season of their production in the Northern Hemisphere. Uzbekistan imported blueberries from Ukraine for the first time this year. Local entrepreneurs are also considering blueberry cultivation, especially after a series of our seminars and conferences.

Tajikistan, just like Uzbekistan, can successfully grow blueberries and export them to many countries, primarily, to Russia, where blueberry prices are among the highest in the world. The conditions for growing blueberries and harvesting in convenient market periods are perfect in these countries. The development of this business is constrained by a lack of knowledge about cultivation technologies and qualified labour to manage such plantations.

Сообщение Blueberries appeared in supermarkets of Tajikistan for the first time! появились сначала на EastFruit.

Exports of fresh table grapes from Peru reached 57.4 million cases of 8.2 kg each in the 2020/2021 season. Thus, the exports of Peruvian table grapes increased by 17% compared to the previous season, according to the website Agraria.pe with reference to the Association of Producers and Exporters of Table Grapes of Peru (PROVID). According to EastFruit analysts, it means that Peru may become the second largest table grape exporter in the world, displacing Italy, the United States and China. Only Chile might still be exporting more table grapes in terms of export volumes.

“The growth rate of exports of table grapes and other fruits and vegetables from Peru is really impressive. Recently, exporters from Peru surpassed Chile in exporting fresh blueberries, firmly entrenching themselves in the leadership position, and now they are beginning to crowd out Chile in terms of table grapes exports. In terms of the export revenues from the table grapes, Peru has already bypassed Chile and is coming close to China, because Peruvian grapes earn higher export prices than Chilean grapes” says Andriy Yarmak, an economist at the Investment Centre of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Thus, Peru exported about 470 thousand tons of fresh table grapes this season. For comparison, the regional leader, Uzbekistan, exports annually around 120-140 thousand tons of table grapes, and Moldova – from 60 to 80 thousand tons of fresh table grapes.

In the 2020/2021 season, 50 different varieties of table grapes were exported from Peru, and 133 exporting companies were engaged in the export. Therefore, on average, each exporter was able to ship over 3.5 thousand tons of table grapes to foreign markets per season. The emphasis of Peruvian grape exports was placed on seedless varieties, which made it possible to get higher export prices. By the way, EastFruit experts mention often that seedless varieties are the future of the table grapes business.

According to the source, the highest demand was observed for white varieties of table grapes offered by Peru. Red varieties followed and exports of black varieties was the lowest. The association also noted that this season Peru exported grapes to 62 world countries, but the main volumes – 41%, were sold to the United States. Other largest importers were the Netherlands (14%), China (11%), the Great Britain (4.2%) and Canada (4%).

PROVID also noted that in the 2020/2021 season, the area cultivated with certified table grapes in the country increased by 2%, reaching 20,775 hectares.

Сообщение Peru becomes the second largest exporter of table grapes in the world, surpassing Italy and China появились сначала на EastFruit.

The global blueberry market has been waiting for a very important decision for several months. Last year, a group of blueberry producers in the United States formally requested additional tariffs on blueberry imports from several countries. A decision in favour of restricting imports would have potentially posed a direct threat to berry growers from Mexico, Chile, Peru, Canada, and Argentina. An increase in tariffs could also indirectly affect the entire global berry business seeing as the United States is the world’s largest importer of blueberries by a huge margin. In addition, the per capita consumption of blueberries in the United States is also much higher than in other parts of the world.

On February 15, 2021, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a verdict based on the results of the investigation. The ITC concluded that imports of fresh, chilled, and frozen blueberries did not significantly harm U.S. producers. The Commission found that the increase in blueberry imports did not cause serious damage and did not pose a serious threat to American producers.

The ITC was unanimous in its decision on the blueberry investigation meaning all members of the commission voted against the introduction of additional duties. The investigation was conducted pursuant to section 202 of the Trade Act of 1974. “As a result of today’s vote, the investigation has been completed. The Commission will submit its report containing the definition of the damage caused and its basis, to the President by March 29, 2021, and will not recommend introducing protective measures,” the ITC said. The investigation report will be available to the public after it is submitted to the President.

Read also: Berry business of 2020: summary and forecasts for 2021

Not surprisingly, the American Blueberry Growers Alliance (ABGA), which includes growers from California, Georgia, Florida, and Michigan, is disappointed with the commission’s decision. “We disagree with the results of the commissioner’s investigation,” the ABGA said in a statement. “In order to review this case, U.S. blueberry growers provided ITC with extensive data confirming the significant damage caused by the surge in imports to U.S. blueberry price levels, especially during our critical growing and harvesting seasons.”

Nevertheless, representatives in the world horticulture trade breathed a sigh of relief. After all, if the tariff was approved, it would become an unpleasant precedent for the closure of markets by other countries. In turn, this would jeopardize multibillion-dollar investments in very promising areas of the horticulture business and would reduce the pace of development of the berry business in general.

“More than 250,000 tons of fresh cultivated and wild blueberries are imported by the United States every year, which is approximately five times more than the Netherlands, the world’s second-largest blueberry importer. Even then, the Netherlands buys berries for further resale while the United States buys exclusively for domestic consumption. Therefore, the decision taken in the United States is also positive for countries such as Ukraine, Poland, and Georgia because otherwise, larger volumes of blueberries from the Southern Hemisphere would be redirected to Europe, which would have lowered the overall price level for this berry,” says Andriy Yarmak, an economist of the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Ukraine itself is very rapidly increasing the imports of blueberries (by about 10 times!) outside its season of cultivation and sale within the country for the past two years. Supplies of blueberries from Peru (the world’s leading blueberry exporter) to Ukraine increased from 23 tons in 2018 to 174 tons in 2020. Imports from other countries in the Southern Hemisphere also continue to increase. Thanks to this, prices for blueberries continued to decline even in winter attracting the attention of an ever wider range of consumers. Accordingly, the growth of blueberry imports in winter had a positive effect on the consumption of this berry in summer creating additional opportunities for local producers.

Сообщение Global sigh of relief about ITC’s decision against additional blueberry import tariffs появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to the Association of Peruvian Exporters (ADEX), in October 2020, grape exports from Peru increased by 11% compared to October 2019 and reached $80 million. From January to October 2020, the volume of exports of Peruvian grapes in monetary terms increased by 23% compared to the same period in 2019 and amounted to $546 million.

The main volume of exports – $324 million – were exported from the Department of Ica. The Association of Exporters of Peru (ADEX) is concerned about workers’ protests in Ica. According to FruitNews based on the information from Freshfruitportal, the protests have led to disruptions in the transportation of agricultural products.

“Every day of protests delays the shipment of 200 containers of agricultural products. The cost of the loss is about $10 million per day. The average cost of each container is about $50,000,” the Association comments.

The Piura Region increased its grape exports by 16.6%. In Lambayek, shipments fell by 2.4% and in La Libertad by 16.3%. The main countries – importers of Peruvian grapes in 2020 were the USA (+ 40.93%) and the Netherlands (+ 14.53%), followed by Hong Kong, Mexico, China, Great Britain, Spain, Colombia, South Korea and Canada.

Сообщение Peruvian table grape exports increased by 23% in 10 months появились сначала на EastFruit.

In 2020, as we predicted in the berry business yearly review, Peru has consolidated its leadership as the global leader in blueberry exports. According to Agrodata Peru, in 2020, Peru increased its blueberry exports by 27.5% to 155.600 tons, widening the gap with Chile, where the growth in blueberry exports was less significant.

However, the dynamic decline in the average export price of Peruvian blueberries is a factor to consider. The average price of blueberries exported from Peru in 2020 fell sharply by 19.4% and was record-low since the country’s entry into the global export market. Thus, the total revenue from exports rose by less than 3% to $833 million despite the sharp increase in volume.

Naturally, the average export price decrease led to a reduction in the blueberry business’s profitability for producers. However, as most of Peru’s blueberry plantations are just beginning to bear fruit, most farmers’ overall income has not declined.

The leading export destination for Peruvian blueberries in 2020 was the United States, which bought 52% of the total export volume. At the same time, farmers growing blueberries in the United States have recently been actively protesting against the increase in blueberries’ supply from Peru. They are planning to take measures to protect their market.

Read more: US may restrict blueberry imports today – what does this mean for the global market?

The Netherlands, China, UK, Hong Kong and Canada were also important markets for blueberries from Peru. The largest blueberry exporters from Peru were Camposol SA, Hortifrut Peru SAC, Complejo Agroindustrial Beta SA, Agrovision Peru SAC, Agricola Santa Azul SRL, Agroberries Peru SAC, Danper Trujillo SAC and Agricola Cerro Prieto SA.

It is worth mentioning that EastFruit analysts predict a decline in blueberry prices in Ukraine and Georgia in 2021 due to the expected sharp increase in production in these countries and Spain, Poland and the whole region.

Сообщение Blueberry exports from Peru in 2020: Record-low price and record-high volume  появились сначала на EastFruit.

In the 2020/21 season, Peruvian grape exporters will increase shipments by 16% year on year.

According to statistics from the Peruvian Table Grape Producers Association (Provid), the initial supply of grapes was estimated at 459 thousand tons.

It was possible to increase production volumes due to the expansion of vineyards, which are entering the period of commercial fruiting. It is specified that among the new varieties, the share of seedless grapes with increased productivity has grown. The Provid Association noted that Peru now produces about 50 grape varieties to ensure export to 50 different world markets. FruitNews writes about this with reference to Freshfruitportal.

“The industry is currently in the process of re-converting varieties, and we see a reduction in the share of the popular Red Globe variety in the export structure,” commented Provid.

In 2016, about half of Peru’s exports came from the Red Globe, but last season its share fell to 32%, and the downward trend continues. In total, 393.6 thousand tons of grapes were exported from Peru previous season. The area of ​​ grapes growing in the country at the beginning of last season exceeded 20 thousand tons.

Сообщение Peru is going to increase table grape exports by 16% появились сначала на EastFruit.

This season, blueberry exporters from Peru will significantly increase the exports, as EastFruit reports with reference to FreshFruitPortal. According to the forecast of the Peruvian Blueberry Growers’ Association (ProArandanos), the country will be able to export about 165 thousand tons of blueberry in 2020, which will exceed the results of the last season by 40%. This will allow Peru to consolidate its global dominance in the blueberry market.

It is worth noting that EastFruit was the first to announce a change in the global blueberry market leader when it became known before the end of 2019 that Peru would bypass Chile and lead the global rating of blueberry exporters. Peru became a shortfall for its main competitor, exporting 120 thousand tons of this berry to the world market. At the same time, Chile continued to struggle with the consequences of drought and a general lack of water for fruit and vegetable production.

According to Luis Miguel Vegas, a representative of ProArandanos, this season’s exports will peak in early October. The most significant progress in the supply of Peruvian blueberries is going to Asian markets. Thus, in March of this year, Peru gained access to the Taiwan market, and total shipments to Asian countries will double this season. Meanwhile, exports to Europe and the United States will grow by 50% and 25%.

Nevertheless, at the moment, the US remains the key sales market for blueberries from Peru, which buys about half of all exports of this berry. About a third of shipments go to Europe, and Asia’s share is 15%, although this season it will expand quite strongly.

The critical problems of exporting blueberries from Peru, according to L.M. Vegas, are the issue of labor availability and worker safety due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated quarantine restrictions. Besides, more competition is expected in the global blueberry market, as the production of this berry is growing rapidly not only in Peru but also, for example, in Mexico and South Africa.

In 2019, about 11 thousand hectares were occupied by blueberries in Peru. By the end of this year, the total area will grow to 13 thousand hectares, and in two years, if the market continues to develop at the same pace, then, according to ProArandanos, they will reach 15 thousand hectares.

Сообщение Peru will increase blueberry exports by 40% this season появились сначала на EastFruit.