“We have been trying for years to make this happen, however, it’s difficult to be very competitive in terms of pricing. We are dealing with domestic supply in the United States or the Spanish supply in Europe. However, there is a growing interest from Russia and London. Therefore, we hope to start exporting some volumes this season”, states Nadia S. Martinez.
Strawberries are very well known in Mexico itself. It’s the most important berry, which helps BQ fruits to market other berries. The strawberry export will be done by air. “Even though strawberries are less sensitive than raspberries and blackberries, still they need to be transported under cool chain conditions. Our volumes are much higher in strawberries, so we are trying to be competitive and look at the needs of that market in order to supply them with what they are looking for.”
Positive outlook for blackberry season
The expectations for the blackberry season are very good according to Nadia. “We started a little earlier than expected. First, we worried about the rainfall, but this didn’t affect the production. The demand for Mexican blackberries is growing, the only problem is that as well a higher quality is demanded. People are often not aware of how much airfreight stresses the fruit and the effect it has on the product.”
Russia is a fast growing market for blackberries as well continues Nadia. “In general, berries are experiencing a boom. However, we believe berries should be part of our daily life and this is not the case yet. It’s something that we would like to achieve. There is some competition for Mexico and, for example, from Guatemala. Luckily, we have the longest season, which helps us a lot.”
