Argentina has sent its first-ever blueberries to the recently opened Chinese market, with Concordia-based Berries Del Sol exporting a 720-kilogram batch of fruit today (Nov. 20).

The export protocol was signed in 2017 during an Argentine trade mission to China following years of negotiations, but access was only finalized in the last couple of months.

The two pallets of blueberries correspond to the Emerald variety. 

Alejandro Pannunzio, company representative and president of the Blueberry Producers' Association of Argentine Mesopotamia (APAMA), said the fruit was trucked to the capital Buenos Aires, from where it was sent via airfreight to Hong Kong via Istanbul. It will then be sent to Shenzhen in southern China. 

The blueberries will be maintained at 0ºC during transit to China, which is expected to last 48 hours.

Some of the farm's blocks were earmarked for export to China and were subject to the phytosanitary measures required by China. The fruit also had to be stored in a cold chamber exclusively for fruit to be sent to China.

The pallets left Concordia on Monday night, arriving at the Buenos Aires airport on Tuesday morning and leaving in the afternoon. Agroindustry Ministry  Luis Miguel Etchevehere was present for the departure.

"We hope that the importers are happy so that they request more fruit right away," Pannunzio said.