Chile has become one of the most important countries in the world when it comes to research and development into blueberry growing, harvesting and technology. With over 38,500 acres planted with highbush blueberries, Chile is one of the largest global exporters of the fruit.  

At the forefront of the Chilean blueberry industry is Andres Armstrong, executive director of the Chilean Blueberry Committee. In today’s episode, host Kasey Cronquist, USHBC/NABC president, sits down with Armstrong for a chat about all things Chilean blueberries. 

“When we started the committee … we wanted to look for new markets. We didn’t want to have our fruit to be concentrated in one market. ” - Andres Armstrong

“If you want to develop new markets, if you want to be competitive in the market situation today, you need to provide good quality fruit. And that begins with the variety and … post-harvest technologies that allow us to get [the fruit] to the market in good quality.” - Andres Armstrong

Topics covered include: 

• How Armstrong got started in the blueberry industry. 
• Domestic growth of blueberry sales in Chile.
• The history of importing Chilean berries into the United States.
• Challenges of importing to Asia and European countries from Chile.
• Importance of varieties when importing blueberries.
• Collaborating between countries and committees.

Crop Report - November 18, 2020 

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout North America. In this episode, you’ll hear from featured guest Andres Armstrong in Chile as well as Juan Soria Morales in Mexico. This was recorded on November 18, 2020.

Marketing Boost - Blueberries featured on Today.com!

Widely read consumer news site Today.com, with an audience of over 27 million, featured frozen blueberries as a versatile ingredient to kick cooking fatigue for home chefs everywhere. In this week’s marketing boost, USHBC/NABC Vice President of Marketing and Communications Jennifer Sparks breaks down the power of earned media.