© Carolize Jansen | FreshPlaza.comTaxes on food are regressive taxes, Ambassador Darci Vetter told an attentive audience at the end of the first day of the International Blueberry Organisation's 2025 congress, held in Cape Town, where representatives from 32 countries are converging to talk about an industry that is worth US$12 billion, that was called 'Blue gold' by The Economist last year and that is almost everywhere – South Africa a notable exception – typified by a scarcity of labour.
Right: Mario Steta with a punnet of Berryworld berries he bought at Woolworths
IBO chair Mario Steta remarked that in his native Mexico, Guatemalans work in the fields, while Morocco has issues finding labour during peak season.
The prospects of Zimbabwean blueberry exports to China are on everyone's lips, while China's own blueberry growth has surprised many, and even China suffers from a peak season labour shortage and is considering seasonal workers from neighbouring countries.
The industry's metrics as contained in the latest IBO annual report were parsed by the authors, and a key takeaway is that blueberry value (driven by premium berries) is growing stronger than volumes or, as Cort Brazelton, one of the authors of the 288-page report, said: "We're selling a lot of blueberries – to the same people. There is work to be done on growing consumer numbers."
FreshPlaza will continue coverage of the IBO congress next week with its photo report.
US agricultural trade deficit not necessarily aberrant
What do the US tariffs mean for blueberries? For US producers, input costs are higher, and it will become more expensive to export: will those blueberries stay home instead? Be frozen? These are the kinds of questions to which companies should be formulating a counter-tactic.
One potential bright spot, Ambassador Vetter noted, was that a negotiated exemption for fresh produce could not be off the table. Perhaps off-season blueberries might be included, although strong US production could count against it, unlike avocados or coffee: an exemption for the latter has just been introduced.
© Carolize Jansen | FreshPlaza.com
Ambassador Darci Vetter, former deputy undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the Obama era, overseeing the Foreign Agricultural Service, later PepsiCo senior vice-president, now consultant
She advised the industry to stay informed on the quicksilver nature of trade decisions coming from the Trump administration. "Use your trade associations," she urged. Many bureaucrats don't have the real-world knowledge to know how far the economic impact goes when, say, fertilizer becomes more expensive.
Pity the importers of goods assembled from parts with different origins – Ford Rangers built in South Africa, say – having to figure out the aggregate of the tariffs levied on that assortment of countries. "Customs brokers are raking it in, helping to figure out the tariff amounts [due]," she said.
"When prices start hitting pocketbooks, complaints will start getting louder."
Yesterday, China called the tariffs imposed on them "unreasonable". In early November, the US Supreme Court will hear the argument that the emergency referred to in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, employed by the Trump administration to push through the tariff regime, is in fact non-existent. The Act was used by previous administrations to enact global sanctions, but never before for tariffs, she explained.
The current administration's interpretation is that the US trade deficit is an emergency. But she contends that a trade deficit is not necessarily a problem. Often, it is simply a realistic representation of what the USA is able to grow and not grow. At other times, reflecting the world as it is, expecting a quid pro quo trade sheet with a country like Lesotho is simply unrealistic. This exemplifies the lack of coherence she sees in the current approach to trade.
The full effect of the price increases is not yet felt. "When prices start hitting pocketbooks, the complaints will start getting louder." The midterm elections could be a turning point, and Wall Street seems to be banking on success in the courts to reverse some of these tariff decisions.
And as for the rest of the world, they have signalled their commitment to international trade infrastructure, not opting to wield tariffs in the way the US has. Regional cooperation will increase in significance, and countries will pivot to other partners: the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's recent iteration with the leaders of China, India, and Russia shows a different way. She quoted her colleague in the Obama administration, Michael Froman, recently telling Politico: "Fundamentally, countries are likely to be polyamorous in their approach to trade."
© Carolize Jansen | FreshPlaza.com
For more information:
Elzette Schutte
BerriesZA
Email: [email protected]
https://www.berriesza.co.za/