USDA Trade Director for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine Division Barbara Spangler notified the North American Blueberry Council (NABC) that blueberries from California, Oregon and Washington can be shipped to Chile with an import permit. Spangler also confirmed that Chile is opening its market to blueberries on a case-by-case basis.
When the U.S. originally requested market access for blueberries in 2014, Chile agreed to consider access for the West Coast states first as substantial information from these growing regions had already been collected. Since an agreement for three initial states has been reached, USDA APHIS will continue to pursue access for all blueberry-producing states.
Moving forward, exporters should work with their importers who must request an import permit and have the necessary Phytosanitary Certificate meeting all agreed-upon mitigations.
Alicia Adler, vice president of NABC, acknowledged the hard work and collaboration between the USDA APHIS, Chilean Agriculture and Livestock Service and the industry to develop a protocol to open the export of U.S. highbush blueberries to Chile.
“Chile is an important trading partner and counter seasonal supplier of blueberries for the United States,” Adler noted. “We look forward to further developing this reciprocal balance of trade between our two countries.”
