The North American 2018 blueberry season has come to a close.
“In general, it was a good season with relatively high yields and strong quality,” says Travis McLachlan with Terra Exports.
The season started in California and moved its way up to Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. Terra Exports works with growers in all these states.
“We made the transition from one region to another as soon as we noticed quality in the harvesting region going down,” shared McLachlan. “I feel we succeeded in making the transitions at the right time.”
New export destinations
The heatwave in Washington did impact the blueberry crop to some extent. “It resulted in an increased volume for the domestic market and a decrease in exports during that period of time.
“We want to ensure high quality upon arrival and that’s why we decided to limit the overseas transfers during the period of the heatwave.”
British Columbia had its biggest blueberry season to date in terms of volume. It offered great opportunities for exports and Terra Exports hit some countries it hadn’t exported to before, including Brunei and Qatar.
Altogether, the company exported blueberries to about fifteen different countries across the globe out of North America. “This season, we noticed a growth in volume as well as an increase in the number of destinations we shipped to,” commented McLachlan.
Interest from Asia is particularly strong. “Consumption out of Asia and the Middle East is at an all time high and I foresee this to continuing to grow,” said McLachlan.
Although Terra Exports is known for exporting fresh produce, the company also supports its growers and customers with distribution in the domestic market.
“We have a relationship with growers that we trust and who trust us. Our export sales division supports them on the international side, while our domestic sales division markets a substantial amount of their crops inside the US.”
24/09/2018
