In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the USHBC and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), and co-host Alicia Adler, USHBC and NABC vice president of global business development, are joined by Mario Flores, director of product management for blueberries at Naturipe Farms, and Matt Lantz, vice president for global access at Bryant Christie, to discuss how the blueberry industry navigates the regulatory environment when marketing blueberries internationally.

“In the last year-and-a-half, we have been able to open the Vietnam market for U.S. blueberries, the Philippines market for U.S. blueberries, and the Chinese market for U.S. blueberries … that is a lightning pace for the type of work [Bryant Christie does].” - Matt Lantz

“[Export market development] is a very important part of our overall marketing plan for our growers’ blueberries because we’re trying to find the best value that we can return back to the farm. And whether that is domestic or international sales, we’re going to try to find the market that can bring the most value back to the growers.” - Mario Flores

Topics covered include: 

• Flores and Lantz’s backgrounds and their roles and experience at their companies.
• The importance of developing export markets for Naturipe. 
• Why different regions have different work plans and protocols for entering their market.
• Inside negotiations between governments. 
• Managing maximum residue limits (MRLs). 

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout North and South America. In this episode, you’ll hear from Doug Krahmer in Oregon, Bryan Sakuma in Washington and Luis Vegas in Peru. This was recorded on September 1, 2021.  

Marketing Boost

USHBC’s Fall & Winter Holidays Toolkit is now available for industry stakeholders! In this week’s marketing boost, USHBC/NABC Vice President of Marketing and Communications Jennifer Sparks talks about USHBC’s latest toolkit and how it can be useful for your marketing plan throughout the fall and winter holiday seasons.  

Fall Event Registration

While in-person attendance is at capacity, virtual registration is still available for Innovate 2021: USHBC+NABC Tech Symposium and Fall Meetings! You don’t want to miss the tech-focused learning, opportunities to network and critical information shared in the meetings. Register today at blueberryevents.org.