Chile, a leader in blueberry production in the southern hemisphere

The development of blueberries in Chile has been dizzying. This season blueberry production increased by 40%, steep at 37.000 tons. In 1992, Chile had only 1,172 hectares planted with this product. Actual surface with blueberries reaches 10,762 hectares. Of these, 4,232 (39% of the
total) were planted in the 2006/2007 season. No wonder then that Felipe Rosas, Executive Director of Berries of Chile, finds that for 2010-2011 production to exceed 95.000 tons. Nor is that Chile is the leader of the blueberry industry in the Southern Hemisphere and 5 sixth world producer with nearly 10% of total production.
The growth in global demand for cranberries, estimated at 10% per annum, and its novel product quality and healthy were the main drivers of the increase in Chilean production.
Where will this stop production? The main importer of Chilean fresh blueberries is, clearly, USA. It was addressed to 15.515 tons during the 2007-2008 season, 70% of consignments of fresh blueberries Chileans. More lies behind Europe, destination of 40% of exports, which stand out in the continent imports from Switzerland, Spain, the UK and Holland.