Gourmet Trading anticipating good supply of Chilean blueberries
Gourmet Trading anticipating good supply of Chilean blueberries
Gourmet Trading Co., headquartered in Los Angeles, was entering its first peak for the Chilean blueberry season in mid-December.
“We anticipate a good supply that will feed the U.S. demand for blueberries at competitive prices,” said Chloé Varennes, marketing manager for the firm. “Quality and rotation has been excellent this season.”
She added that the company planned to be ready to move to pints and 18-ounce packages during the last week of December.
“We will also see better volumes on six-ounce organic packs for the month of January,” she noted.
Gourmet Trading also anticipated having issues with labor in Chile this season. Varennes said that this is because it is tough for growers to find labor during the holidays when fruit needs to be picked.
“Water has also been a big concern,” she added. “So far, however, we have no problems related to this. Weather has been good this season and harvest is progressing nicely. Since there are larger volumes of blueberries and cherries being imported to the U.S., logistics have been a challenge for the industry. Gourmet Trading Co. has not experienced any challenges with logistics since we have our own in-house logistics.”
Gourmet Trading Co. handles conventional and organic blueberries out of Chile. The company is also a leading supplier of other year-round quality fruits and vegetables.