Vanguard Celebrates First Commercial Blueberry Harvest in Peru

Recently, globally renowned fresh produce marketer Vanguard Group International announced the launch of its first commercial blueberry harvest in Peru. The inaugural harvest season, which began in June, is anticipated to run through late December. As the blueberry plantings mature, the company expects the harvest window to gradually broaden to between mid-May and early February in the years ahead.

Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Washington State, Vanguard operates subsidiaries in China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Peru, Chile, Spain, Italy and South Africa. In addition to ranking among Peru’s top five exporters of table grapes, the company deals with a diverse portfolio of other fruit, including avocados, cherries, apples, kiwifruit, mangos, citrus and stone fruit.

In February 2026, Vanguard announced the establishment of a large-scale blueberry farm named Piscu in Peru’s Pisco province. The project spans more than 2,000 hectares and includes an initial planting phase of 550 hectares, with an additional 900 hectares reserved for future expansion.

In June, the Piscu farm celebrated its inaugural blueberry harvest. The initial crop includes Apex (FCM14-057), developed by global blueberry genetics giant Fall Creek, as well as MegaEarly, MegaCrisp and MegaGem from IQ Berries, a breeding company specializing in premium early-season blueberry varieties for growers worldwide.

All four varieties consistently produce large fruit, with 60–70% of the berries measuring at least 18 millimeters in diameter. Among them, Apex is an early-to-mid-season variety that combines exceptional fruit quality, excellent shelf-life performance and highly uniform sizing, making it a strong competitor to Sekoya Pop, a premium early-season variety widely used as a benchmark in commercial blueberry production. Apex produces firm berries with greater firmness than both Ventura and Sekoya Pop, while offering a well-balanced sweet-tart flavor profile positioned between the two. The variety also delivers an impressive fruit size, averaging 20.8 millimeters in diameter, with more than half of the berries exceeding 18 millimeters. In addition, Apex is highly productive, with yields exceeding 20 metric tons per hectare.

Blueberries harvested in late June will be airfreighted to Asian markets, while shipments to the U.S. market are expected to begin in late July. Vanguard expects the majority of its production to be supplied to key retail partners across the Americas and Europe, with additional volumes shipped to the Middle East and other Asian markets during peak demand periods.

Image: Vanguard Group International

This article was translated from Chinese. Read the original article.