OVERVIEW OF THE BLUEBERRY INDUSTRY IN SOUTH AMERICA

There are only two edible native Vaccinium species in South America: The "mortiño" (V. mortinia), which grows mainly in The Andes of Ecuador and Colombia and the Jamaican bilberry (V. meridionale), both of which have limited commercial value.

Several attempts have been made to introduce to the Region the cultivated species from North America, but with the exception of Chile, there are no written reports which account for the date of introduction, or species and cultivars introduced.
In spite of this, it is likely that both highbush and rabbiteye cultivars were introduced and evaluated in a preliminary way by farmers of different countries.

The current open market policy, adopted by most nations in recent years, has stimulated the interest in these species, particularly to take advantage of the off-season market of the Northern hemisphere.
Chile is leading this development with over 350 hectares already planted, both of Highbush (60%) and Rabbiteye (40%) cultivars.
Exports to the Northern hemisphere amounted to 40,000 kgs in the 1991/92 season, both to the U.S.A. (75%) and Europe (25%). The industry is expanding rapidly to an estimated 1,000 hectares by the year 2,000.

Different size development projects are under way for these species in other countries like Uruguay, Argentina and Central America, with an estimated hectarage of, at the most, 100 ha.
Because this fruit is unknown in Latin America, a market has to be developed before local consumption will have any significance, therefore all planting are aimed to the export market.

V International Symposium on Vaccinium Culture

C. Schick

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1993.346.2