Customized Brokers: Chilean blueberry volumes are high this year
Customized Brokers: Chilean blueberry volumes are high this year
Despite heavy rains in Chile, which was estimated to have caused damage to 10 percent of the crop, blueberry volumes are high this season on both fresh and frozen fruit.
“Customized Brokers is handling more cargo this season than in past years, in part because of this higher influx of fruit, but also because we are offering customers more streamlined, end-to-end transportation and logistics solutions, including trucking, customs brokerage, freight forwarding and CrowleyFresh cold storage services,”
Nelly Yunta said Nelly Yunta, vice president of Customized Brokers, headquartered in Miami, FL.
Yunta added that blueberries, avocados and stone fruits will be moving strongly in January, but as the year progresses, the company will switch its main focus to tropicals, asparagus, melons, mangos, grapes and other Chilean produce items.
“The weather has been a challenge for growers this season,” she pointed out. “Additionally, fumigation requirements for crops that may be affected by certain regional insects have created additional hurdles for farmers. Finally, port strikes in the country may have impacted logistics operations thereby causing delays or other problems.”
She also said that Customized Brokers expected to have Perishables Pilot Program news in late December. Since its October launch, the six-month pilot program co-created by Crowley Maritime Corp., Customized Brokers, Seaboard Mariners and PortMiami allows for the clearance of cold-treatment perishables, such as Peruvian grapes and Uruguayan blueberries, among others, through South Florida.
“It has proven to be a remarkable success,” said Yunta. “Port Miami is already expecting about 150 refrigerated containers of fruit this season, but officials hope that number will grow to the thousands over the next few years. This is a great alternative to congested Northeastern ports.”
Currently, these perishables are required to enter Northeastern ports for cold treatment and clearance, but then they must be transported to Southern states for distribution.
“The USDA recently made a trip to Peru to evaluate the conditions for growing and handling grapes and blueberries,” Yunta added. “Their findings will help them determine whether or not to expand the program to include Peruvian citrus, as well as apples, pears and blueberries from Argentina.”