Frozen Raspberries & Blackberries (IQF Whole, Crumble and Block)

Whole IQF, crumble and block raspberries and blackberries, bought on whole-berry share, defects and virus controls

Raspberries are the most fragile fruit in the frozen trade, and the grade is mostly a statement of how much of the berry survived picking and freezing. Offers are made as whole IQF (a high share of intact berries, for retail and decoration), whole-and-broken, crumble (broken berries for yoghurt, bakery and fruit preparations) and block for jam and puree, with the whole-berry percentage, colour and defect limits written on the specification. Codex CXS 69-1981, the standard for quick frozen raspberries (Rubus idaeus, red, yellow or black varieties), recognises free-flowing and block presentations and allows up to 10% m/m of berries stuck together in a free-flowing pack, sets mineral impurities at no more than 0.05% of the product, defines stalks as over 3 mm, and requires the thermal centre to reach -18 °C. Packs with added sugar carry a soluble solids band of 18-35% for dry sugar or 15-30% for syrup; unsweetened fruit is bought with a Brix minimum agreed in the contract. Blackberries travel under the same HS subheading, 0811.20, which also covers mulberries, loganberries, currants and gooseberries. UN Comtrade 2024 export declarations under HS 0811.20 put Serbia first at USD 313 million and 99,000 MT (Germany USD 83 million, France USD 57 million, Belgium, the UK and Sweden next), followed by Poland USD 206 million and 103,900 MT, Chile USD 120 million and 37,500 MT, Ukraine USD 115 million and 61,300 MT, China USD 45 million and 23,300 MT and Mexico USD 22 million and 10,000 MT. Average 2024 unit values ran from about USD 1.88/kg (Ukraine) and 1.99/kg (Poland) to 3.16/kg (Serbia) and 3.20/kg (Chile). Industry reporting names Ukraine the largest net exporter of frozen raspberries in 2024 at about 65,000 MT, ahead of Poland and Serbia.

The food safety file carries as much weight as the grade. Norovirus survives freezing, and frozen raspberries are the berry most often notified for it: a 2025 study in Foods found that Serbian berries were linked to 33 of the 132 norovirus contamination events notified in the EU rapid alert system between 2006 and 2024, most of them frozen raspberries, and the 2013-2014 hepatitis A outbreak in 13 European countries, 1,589 cases, was traced to frozen mixed berries whose most common ingredients were Bulgarian blackberries and Polish redcurrants. Germany's BfR advises that frozen berries be heated thoroughly before eating. Buyers look for farm-level hygiene and water controls under GlobalG.A.P., a BRCGS or IFS certified freezing plant, and lot testing for norovirus and hepatitis A by ISO 15216-1 where their policy requires it, plus residue results against the destination's MRLs. The European crop is picked and frozen in summer, with the freezing seasons in Serbia, Poland and Ukraine running at the same time and Polish Polka raspberries typically fruiting from mid-June to mid-July; Southern Hemisphere supply comes from Chile, whose berry growing is concentrated in Maule and Ñuble. CBIL is a commodity brokerage company and brokers frozen raspberries and blackberries from freezers in these origins against the packer's specification, a certificate of analysis per lot, the health and phytosanitary certificates the destination requires, a certificate of origin and, on request, halal certification by a body the destination accepts. Product ships in 10 kg cartons, 400-500 kg bins or octabins and retail bags at -18 °C or colder, by reefer truck within Europe on FCA terms or in 40-ft high-cube reefers on FOB, CFR and CIF terms, priced per MT by variety, whole-berry share, grade and crop year. Send the berry, variety, grade, whole-berry share, pack, test requirements, volume and destination, and the enquiry is screened and worked against it.

Excluded origins are not offered, including product re-exported, blended or re-processed through a third country. Every lot moves with a certificate of origin naming the producing plant, mine or grower country, and nothing is quoted before the seller and loading point are known.