Blueberries bring in billions globally but their season in North Carolina only lasts a few months.

Recent trial shipments from South America through the Port of Wilmington, however, are allowing officials “to understand what the challenges are, what the opportunities are to import in the North Carolina off-season,” said Brian Clark, executive director of N.C. Ports.

Growers, exporters, importers and ports officials, along with other industry leaders, gathered at the Hotel Ballast in Wilmington on Thursday for the N.C. Ports Cold Chain Summit.

The agenda for The Big Chill: Driving Cold Change included a panel discussion that highlighted the new blueberry initiative. 

Jody McPherson, business development manager for American Blueberries and Rocky Point-based Lewis Nursery and Farms, described the benefit of his firm partnering with an importer and the ports for off-season business.

“Our season of strawberries, blueberries and blackberries is really from April to, at best, July 15. And outside of that, we pretty much sit idle, so the only way we can implement that is to offer our facility, our services,” McPherson said. “I think a great opportunity is where we're headed – blueberries or fresh produce from South America through places like the Wilmington port. What that allows is to utilize our staff and make our career pathways for employees to be better than what they are now. …  I’m excited about the opportunities ahead and where we can go from here.”

Angelo Pagliotti, president of Piemonte Foods, an importer, distributor and marketing company of fresh and frozen perishables throughout the U.S. and Canada, said the collaboration with Lewis Nursery and Farms and American Blueberries gives the South American blueberry growers and distributors a strategic location along the East Coast.

Joining Pagliotti and McPherson on the panel were moderator Alexander “Sandy” Stewart, the state’s assistant commissioner of agriculture; Miranda Gan, who leads Walmart’s direct import grocery operations, including fresh produce and frozen goods; and Ron Cottle of Duplin-based Cottle Farms Inc.

The innovation panel provided a small picture of a larger ports trend: Officials say N.C. Ports has experienced 400% growth in refrigerated import and export volumes over the past five years.

Clark said Cold Summit Development is expected to break ground soon on its cold storage warehouse space on port property, while RL Cold, one of the largest cold chain developers in the nation, is building a cold chain storage faciity in Pender Commerce Park. "That's expected to open in August or September of this year," Clark said. "So a lot of the infrastructure that supports what we're doing on-site is happening off-site and we're excited about that."