The gap between the U.S. blueberry deal and the arrival of blueberries from Argentina should be minimal this year, and Argentina volume should be greater than last season.

Some growers already were shipping Argentine fruit to the U.S. in early September, and movement was expected to pick up in the coming weeks.

Volume shipped to the U.S. this year should be about 9,000 tons, similar to the 2012 season, said Ines Pelaez, manager of the Argentinean Blueberry Committee, Buenos Aires. Last year’s shipments to the U.S. totaled 7,733 tons — about 61% of the country’s volume.
Quality should be good if favorable weather continues.
The season should wind down by the end of January.

Rebound from last year
Last season was marred by late frosts and a major hailstorm that affected the main growing region in Concordia and resulted in significant fruit loss, she said.
Because of weather-related crop losses last September and early October, Salinas, Calif.-based Naturipe Berry Farms LLC expects to see significantly higher volume this year.
“We’re looking at a 30% to 40% increase versus last year,” said Jim Roberts, vice president of sales.
He emphasized the industrywide increase will be more in the 10% range.
Argentina had a mild winter, said Nader Musleh, executive director of the blueberry division for Watsonville, Calif.-based California Giant Inc. In fact, some were saying there was no winter this year, he said.
That helped the berries get off to an early start — about two weeks earlier than usual — with large sizing and good quality, he said.
California Giant expected to start shipping in mid-September.

Prices
Prices were inching upward as U.S. volume winds down, and Argentina shipments were still light, Musleh said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Sept. 4 f.o.b. prices on flats of 12 6-ounce containers of Northwest blueberries ranged from $18-20. A month earlier, prices ranged from $11-12.50.