Frozen Wild Blueberries: export from Canada to ASEAN

Wild blueberries are a different species from cultivated highbush, and the difference is commercial rather than botanical trivia. They are smaller, more intensely flavoured and higher in the anthocyanins that carry the antioxidant positioning, which is why they are bought at a premium for that positioning rather than as a cheaper small berry.

The product is almost entirely IQF, and the specification points are grade, size distribution, defect and foreign material tolerance, and whether the berries are whole or include broken fruit. Bakery and manufacturing buyers can often take a wider tolerance at a better price; retail and foodservice cannot.

Canadian production is concentrated in Quebec and the Maritimes, harvested in a short late-summer window from managed wild stands rather than planted fields, which is why volume varies with the season more than a cultivated crop does.

Specify grade, size and defect tolerance, and confirm cold chain capability at the destination before shipping. IQF product that has partially thawed and refrozen clumps, and it is obvious on arrival.