Chile: Production of blueberries in the area with a positive estimate
Cranberries arrived in Chile in the 80 years, and then their expansion increased in the area of their plantations. More than 13 thousand hectares are planted between the third and tenth region, including the Los Ríos Region (XIV region), with the majority of the production coming from the Biobío Region.
In the productive market, more than 80 thousand tons of this blue-black berrie are obtained annually from the orchards, being one of the largest producers in South America.
The producer of the Province of Biobío, Claudio Contreras, indicated that in the last season "Chile exported close to 88 tons of fresh blueberries, far from what was forecast, which was around 100 tons."
The professional stressed that this could be affected by climatic problems that have affected the national territory for about three years.
"Of the tons exported as fresh fruit, the 6,8% was exported to China, which represents a remarkable increase to that market, because Chilean producers and exporters want to capture a greater percentage of that market due to the good prices that have been obtained for several seasons ", emphasized the producer of the zone.
Also, the producer stressed, in relation to the percentage taken to the Asian country, that "It is possible that this year it will increase again, since new technologies have been implemented and at the same time shorter arrival times to enable the fruit to arrive in better conditions to China".
However, "The market farthest from our coasts, United States, will remain the majority destination of Chilean fruit", stressed the entrepreneur in blueberries.
THE WATER SHORTAGE
Given the water shortage that has affected the fields of Chile, Claudio Contreras said that "Everyone has somehow been affected by water scarcity; in the north, the groundwater has dropped many meters, and here in Los Angeles it is still not as affected, but you can see that Lake Laja is quite low ".
Currently, the producer added, "Water scarcity does not affect large-scale cranberries pluviometrically, since water is delivered through drip irrigation."
Climate change affects blueberries from another point of view. According to Contreras, it is because solar radiation has increased and this causes deterioration in the fruit. Therefore, the blueberry entrepreneur asserted that "This dehydrates quickly and that has meant that many producers have to use covers or meshes to save some varieties that are more affected by radiation, such as the legacy".
LABOR FOR COLLECTION
The harvest season begins November's 20 and lasts until March's 10, to which Contreras added that "This could be expanded a little more, but the problem is that we do not have a market. Today Mexico, Florida (USA) is entering very hard, because they are producing earlier. Therefore, they are taking us out of the late market for five years. "
In relation to the workforce for an optimum work performance, the Biobío producer pointed out that "There is always a labor shortage to harvest blueberries at the peak moment of the zone, which occurs between the 25 of December and the 15 of January approximately. This happens because other fruit companies demand labor, in addition to people prefer jobs that are more stable, because it is a stationary job ".
PROGNOSTS FOR THE 2016-2017 SEASON
The farmer pointed out that "The next season looks very auspicious both in production and in return prices, again favored by the exchange rate that is expected to border the 700 pesos during the harvest season and in the following months".
Source: The Tribune
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