Frozen Fruit: Strawberries, Berries, Mango & Pineapple

Frozen fruit is a reefer container trade bought on a specification sheet, and HS heading 0811 carries it. Strawberries have their own subheading, 0811.10, and Codex CXS 52-1981 sets their styles (whole, halved, sliced or cut, free-flowing IQF or block) and defect tolerances; raspberries, blackberries and currants share 0811.20, with Codex CXS 69-1981 for raspberries; and blueberries, mango, pineapple and tropical mixes all fall in 0811.90, with national lines such as EU CN 0811 90 70 for wild blueberries and US HTS 0811.90.20 for blueberries. Every product is bought on the same questions: variety, style or cut and its size, Grade A for retail and foodservice or Grade B and crumble for processing, a Brix minimum, colour and defect limits, foreign matter, and a core temperature of -18 °C. UN Comtrade 2024 data put HS 0811 at about USD 6.17 billion and 2.23 million MT, with Thailand 11.2% of value, Poland 10.4%, Canada 8%, Chile 8% and Egypt 6.9%. At six digits, Egypt led frozen strawberries with USD 381 million and 191,400 MT ahead of Mexico (USD 162 million) and Poland (USD 126 million); Serbia led raspberries and blackberries with USD 313 million and 99,000 MT ahead of Poland (USD 206 million), Chile (USD 120 million) and Ukraine (USD 115 million); and under 0811.90, which mixes all other frozen fruit, Canada declared USD 469 million, Poland USD 311 million, Chile USD 263 million, Peru USD 207 million and Costa Rica USD 102 million.

Food safety decides who can buy. Frozen berries have been the vehicle in documented norovirus and hepatitis A outbreaks, including about 11,000 norovirus cases in Germany in 2012 linked to frozen strawberries and a 2013-2014 hepatitis A outbreak with 1,589 cases in 13 European countries linked to frozen mixed berries, so buyers ask for GlobalG.A.P. farm controls, a BRCGS or IFS certified freezing plant, residue results against the destination's MRLs and, where their policy requires it, lot testing by ISO 15216-1; the EU has also placed Egyptian strawberries, fresh and frozen, on 20% border checks for pesticide residues under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/194. The buyers are retailers and private-label packers, smoothie and foodservice chains, and yoghurt, bakery, jam, ice cream and juice processors. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers frozen fruit from packers in Egypt, Mexico, Poland, Chile, China, Morocco, Peru, Serbia, Ukraine, Canada, the USA, Thailand, India, Ecuador, Viet Nam, Costa Rica and the Philippines against the packer's specification, a certificate of analysis per lot, the health or phytosanitary certificates the destination requires, a certificate of origin and, on request, halal certification by a body the destination accepts. Product moves in 10 kg cartons, 400-500 kg bins and retail bags at -18 °C or colder, by reefer truck within Europe or in 40-ft high-cube reefers, on FCA, FOB, CFR and CIF terms, priced per MT by fruit, variety, grade, cut and crop year. Send the fruit, variety, grade, cut, pack, test requirements, volume and destination, and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.