After four years of unforeseen events, the Berry Conference 2023 took place this Wednesday at the Talca Casino Hotel in the Maule region, organized by Chilealimentos and supported by INDAP. The conference brought together producers, technical advisors, companies and industry members who were able to understand the industry in general and forecasts for the 2023-2024 season in particular.
Gonzalo Bachelet, President of Chilealimentos, underlined the purpose of this meeting and the latest developments in the berry industry: “Here we bring the berry industry together with farmers and authorities, and we are in the heart of the berry region. We always do this to review the market situation, the production situation, the issues, what’s going on in other parts of the world. So it’s a good opportunity, and there’s always a good opportunity.”
With regard to the joint work that Chilealimentos has carried out with INDAP, the executive emphasized that it is a very successful alliance focused on berries, one of the few areas where producers are able to make good profits on small plots of land. “INDAP has been promoting raspberry plantations in farmers’ family farming for many years, and we have invested in the industrial part. On the one hand, this generates supply, we receive the fruit, transform it, export it and add value to it, which is a Very virtuous circle and one of the good opportunities for public-private partnership. In recent years we have increased the production chain and companies authorized by INDAP provide training to producers, which has also been effective and their contribution has been put to good use”, Ba Chelet said.
Sebastián Acosta, Head of INDAP Extension, announced the agency’s policy for home-grown berry producers, emphasizing that the project accounts for almost 50% of the fruit tree production the agency is engaged in in the country, noting that The concentration of production is highest in Molay. “This meeting is significant because it gives us the sensitivity to elements at the forefront of today’s industry, which presents us with the challenge of articulating and strengthening our plans for production promotion, financing and, most importantly, openness. Training and orientation Farmers provide the space for the different elements discussed at this event to continue to strengthen their competitiveness in markets and production chains, which is key to commercial success”.
The Berry Congress 2023 agenda also includes a presentation on the detection of Hepatitis A in berries in the United States and its impact on the Chilean industry, by Óscar Galagarza, Production Safety Specialist at the Chilean Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. U.S. Food and Drug Administration; Official Controls of Fruit and Vegetable Product Safety for Export: Progress and Gaps in Industry Standard 7550 for Berries, By Rodrigo Sotomayor, Director, Forest Agriculture Inputs and Products Regulation, SAG; Pablo Herrera, Commercial Director, Valle Frío, on strategies to increase the competitiveness of frozen berries; Drosophila suzuki INIA Quilamapu entomologist Luis Devoto on berry production in Chile; key to building future raspberries and realizing orchards Drosophila suzukiby Óscar Avendaño, Berry Expert Advisor; and Frozen Berries Business Outlook 2023-2024, by Antonio Domínguez, International President raspberry tissue.