On the evening of April 26, the Chilean blueberry Committee of the association of Chilean fruit exporters (asoex) held a special lecture on the wechat group of international fruit and vegetable reports. Mr. charif Christian Carvajal, the Eurasian marketing director of asoex, summarized the promotion and sales of Chilean blueberries in the Chinese market in the 2021 / 22 season.
As a major food exporter, Chile’s exports of cherries, fresh grapes and plums have always ranked first in the world. During the epidemic period, Chile’s fruit industry paid great attention to the safety of exported fruits, and released three versions of the prevention guide for novel coronavirus in farms and fruit packaging plants. At the same time, it also made epidemic prevention videos for workers for training.
Charif said that the delay in the arrival of blueberries in Chile this season has led to a huge impact on the cost of blueberries. According to the statistics of the Chilean blueberry Commission, Chile exported 107187 tons of fresh blueberries in the 2021 / 22 production season, a slight decrease from 117850 tons in the previous quarter.
Among them, 6730 tons of fresh blueberries were exported to China, up slightly from 6496 tons in the previous quarter. These blueberries mainly have 10 varieties, which are not only suitable for long-distance transportation, but also have high sweetness, which is very in line with the taste of Chinese consumers. The most popular varieties are Legaci legacy and Duke Duke, which account for almost half of Chile’s blueberry exports to China.
Chilean blueberry Committee has a deep understanding of the Chinese market. Charif shared that “Chilean blueberry is positioned as a healthy and delicious snack that can be enjoyed at any time, and the target customers are young couples and families.” In the 2021 / 22 production season, Chilean blueberries were promoted on the domestic mainstream e-commerce platform, with strong sales. Through cooperative promotion, advertising and a large number of media exposure with more than 20 KOLs, Chilean blueberry continues to win attention on social networks. Alexis Sanchez, an internationally renowned player, also appeared as a spokesman for Chilean blueberries to share the good taste of his hometown with Chinese consumers and fans.
This season, Chilean blueberry vigorously explored new cities, launched offline promotion in 51 stores of 7 chain supermarket brands in 15 cities across the country, and more than 1000 activities covered the whole blueberry production season. At the same time, the Chilean blueberry Commission attaches great importance to contacts with domestic traders and continues to visit major domestic wholesale markets. Representatives of the committee went to Qingdao and Gaobeidian in Hebei successively to hold the Chilean blueberry seminar face to face with traders.
At the end of the lecture, charif answered questions from the audience. Referring to the performance of blueberries in the global market, he said, “the sales of fruits rich in vitamin C increased significantly during the epidemic. It is generally believed that blueberries are rich in anthocyanins and antioxidants, which are good for human immunity, so the sales also increased during the epidemic.” In general, the Chilean fruit industry is very optimistic about the performance of blueberries in the global market. Chilean blueberries have achieved double-digit growth in Europe, North America, Asia and other markets. The whole industry also has many varieties of innovation and continues to explore new markets.
In addition to continuing to be optimistic about the market, traders also showed interest in boutique blueberries and packaging specifications. Charif said that although Chile does not export organic blueberries to China, it has covered different levels of markets, including high-end markets, and has taken into account retail, online and catering channels. The consumption of blueberries in Europe and America is relatively mature, and the packaging is mainly 500g. It is believed that with the development of the Chinese market and the improvement of consumer demand, exporters and packers will also provide retailers with more large-scale packaging, and the market will usher in a win-win situation.
Source: International Report on fruits and vegetables
Post time: May-23-2022