“We look forward to increased availability again this year as we continue to focus on our imported berry program,” said Cindy Jewell, director of marketing for California Giant Berry Farms headquartered in Watsonville, CA. “If weather cooperates, we are expecting our volumes to increase by between 15 and 20 percent over last year.”

California Giant Berry Farms got its start in 1970 as a small startup company shipping strawberries. In 1983, it became New West Fruit Corp. In the early 1990s it expanded and began producing strawberries, and late in the same decade it adopted its brand name, “California Giant” as its company name.

In 2006, the firm added blueberries, blackberries Nader Musleh, general manager of California Giant Berry Farms' Chilean operationand raspberries to its lineup, and today California Giant grows and ships over 20 million trays of berries annually.

The family-owned operation was designed so that it could control every aspect of berry production to ensure that customers and consumers receive a year-round supply of superior quality strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. The company prides itself on its concern for the environment, food safety, quality and service, and holds its community at the core of its business.

Ms. Jewell said the company is focusing on growing its import program on blueberries and blackberries, noting, “We continue to see consumption rise in the U.S. in both of these berry categories.”

“Our imported blueberries come from Argentina, Uruguay and Chile, with Chile serving as our South America region home base,” she continued. “Our blackberries are imported from Mexico.”

She added that the approaching blueberry season in South America and Mexico is expected to be similar to last year’s season.

“Blueberry imports from Argentina and Uruguay will kick off very soon, and Chile follows in early November,” she said. “The blueberry season in South America will continue all the way into next April, just in time for the domestic season to kick into gear. The Mexico blackberry season is expected to begin in October, and it will carry us throughout the winter and into May or June, weather permitting.”

The destination of the berries that California Giant Berry Farms imports extends to the already wide North American range that the company ships to because imported berry shipments are combined with its domestic strawberry shipments throughout the year.

The company is now approaching its seventh season in importing blueberries from South America.

“We have really enjoyed positive growth in this region, with both our growing relationships, retail support and staffing,” said Ms. Jewell. “As our program in that region continues to grow, we look forward to increasing our presence even more in Chile and Argentina. Nader Musleh is our general manager in Chile, and he leads our office and staff in that region. In early September, he was with our sales department leadership in Hong Kong, working to hopefully expand our customer base for imported blueberries to that region as well.”