Outlooks for blueberry in the next years.

Author: Javier Rico, Euroberry Manager

Undoubtedly, we can consider blueberry as one of the agricultural products which have recently caused more expectancy and growth in the markets worldwide and in particular in Europe.

This resulted in the sowing of more than noticeable quantities within the last years, with an estimated production of over 3.600 hectares in Argentina, over 9.000 ha in Chile, 600 ha in Uruguay, 2.000 ha in Poland and 1.000 ha in Spain, not taking into account productions from USA, Germany, The Netherlands, France or Italy, just to mention some countries with certain tradition regarding blueberry.
These productive developments have taken place more or less in order, with varieties and production data more or less wise, what makes many of us wonder about the future of such a product in the middle and long term.

Evidently, faced with those productions to come, the market will have to be stimulated in order to absorb huge volumes for which it is not prepared at present. Besides, US market, which is the biggest consumer of berries, mostly own and from South America, is correcting prices faced with new volumes, although it still has a growing demand, chiefly during the winter. Consumption per capita in the USA is at least ten times European one.

In this situation, Europe (also including Eastern countries and Russia) is determined to play a leading role regarding success of blueberries in the years to come, considering that there are countries, such as Spain, in which consumption of blueberry is insignificant. Asia (Japan, Hong Kong, China, etc.) will also have much to say in the future; even though their natural supplier is Oceania (Australia, New Zealand), Chile and Argentina, being more competitive, will increase their market share.

As we can see, the challenge we face is important and attractive, although we must handle correctly all the variables. Within the Group Hortifruit and from our point of view, success in this matter is based on four cornerstones:
-To satisfy demand with reasonable prices in the windows existent during the year in order to create a smooth, lineal price curve, thus avoiding sawtooth curve.
-To promote strongly those markets in which the product is rarely known and consequently rarely consumed.

-To incorporate bigger packaging to sell greater volumes. The US example is quite clarifying: US production is about 75.000 tonnes and they sell containers from 4,4 ounces (about 125 g) to 10 pounds (circa 4,5 kg) with twelve or fourteen kinds of different measure and weight.

To go on working on programmes of improvement regarding varieties in order to offer a better blueberry, since certain varieties already known don’t bring much regarding taste and organoleptic properties.

Thus, Group Hortifruit, our group of companies, as world leader regarding this product, and its marketer for Europe, Euroberry Marketing, are quite sure about these points and they work enthusiastically every day to achieve these aims, leading research programmes on new varieties in both Europe as well as in America, besides promoting blueberry using the tools within their reach.