India's potential for fresh Chilean blueberries
The demand for this fruit has been increasing, mainly due to its properties. The United States has almost the 90% share in that market, and Chile is still waiting to achieve entry with fruit without fumigating.
Although blueberries are little known and new in the Indian market, the demand has been growing strongly until becoming a product highly recognized for its properties.
India is also a country exposed to global culture and has a conscious population for its health, therefore, consumers have begun to explore more exotic fruits. Thus, there are more and more importers and producers of fresh fruit who are considering betting on blueberries, says a recent report by ProChile.
To date, this fruit is being used by the Horeca sector -hotels, restaurants, casinos- as an ingredient for desserts and confectionery. In addition, in the urban sectors, fresh blueberries have also become popular, but due to their high cost, they are only consumed by one segment.
In addition, India, which is the largest market in the world, depends on imports to satisfy its interest in blueberries, as the product recently began to be grown in that country.
The United States is the main supplier of blueberries in India, with the 89% share in the market, followed by Canada, with 6,8% and the Netherlands, with 3,4%. Chile, on the other hand, remains behind and still does not arrive massively in that market.
The study by ProChile's commercial office in India indicates that new fumigation regulations are in the final stages of implementation so that Chilean blueberries can enter the Indian market. “These new standards would be very conducive to improve the shelf life of blueberries", says the report.
In this regard, the general manager of the Committee of Blueberries, Andrés Armstrong, explains that it is waiting for the implementation of a technical agreement between the SAG and its counterpart in India, which recognizes that Chile is a fruit fly free country. , so you can export without fumigating.
"It is in administrative procedures. Our agricultural aggregate in India is still working so that in the next season we can export without fumigatingsays Armstrong.
Despite the current situation, you can find Chilean blueberries in some supermarkets in India; however, they arrive in the country through other channels.
THE RIGHT MOMENT
Our country has advantages, thanks to the Partial Scope Agreement between Chile and India, since the basic customs tariff for cranberries decreased by 50%, and remained at 15%.
Being a high-cost product with a very low useful life, “importers supply directly to retailers and supermarkets, omitting wholesalers, which shortens the supply chain and the transit time of the product from a port to a plant“, reports ProChile.
We must also consider that the storage of cold products and the maintenance of a controlled temperature are very important obstacles for the Indian market.
This plays a trick on fresh blueberries, because keeping them at a good temperature is a difficult task.
"The changes of temperature that the fruit suffers during the transit also diminish its useful life. Therefore, frozen blueberries and preserves are more in circulation, since they do not require an environment with controlled temperature and so intense until consumption“says ProChile.
Along with that, it informs that until now the cost and the useful life have been the only fundamental obstacles when importing, which could be reduced by the change in the fumigation, a better management in the temperature of the products to be transported and the contracting of high volumes for imports.
"With the implementation of these steps and aggressive promotions in the Asian country can create a great demand for blueberries in the future. Seeing the condition of the market and the potential for growth, this is the right time to enter the market and establish the long-term brand“, estimates ProChile in its report.
US$ 12 THOUSAND IN BLUEBERRIES
exported the United States in 2016, equivalent to one ton.35 THOUSAND TONS
of fresh fruit exported Chile to India in 2015 / 2016, according to Asoex.
Source: Revista del Campo
Previous article
Andrés France Iglesias, from INIA: "In prevention is the secret"ARTÍCULOS RELACIONADOS
