Although the supply of French blueberries was strongly affected last year due to unfavorable weather conditions, the current campaign looks much better: "This year we have the capacity to supply volume. Although the frosts on April 3, 4 and 5 affected the first flowers, causing a three-week delay in the start of the campaign, we will continue to have fruit in satisfactory quantities," reports Jocelyn Joncour, director of farms at the SCEA les Jardins Bio du Médoc.

A quality that promises to be good
In addition, it seems that the quality of the blueberries is also at the expected level: "We have just overcome this period of heat wave having taken great care of our plants. The lack of water forced us to water at night, but in general we did well. If we get past the hail, the quality promises to be good.”

An economic context that creates tensions in the organic market
But the particularity of this 2022 season is observed rather in the economic aspect: "The big difference with the other years is that there is currently a tension in the organic market. The market is tense and prices tend to fall. We live in a period of uncertainty between the war in Ukraine, the elections, inflation, etc., which pushes the French to be prudent. And the organic market is paying dearly for this consumer prudence”.

The blueberry: a market that continues to develop in France
Despite this pressure on prices, the blueberry market in France continues to grow, especially in the industrial sector: "This year there is great demand from the industry. Even though organic is currently less in demand, 'Made in France' makes sense in the eyes of the consumer. Nowadays, there are jam distributors and manufacturers who want to create their own brand based on French blueberries. This is very interesting for us producers, because it allows us to output the volume”.

A difficult change to the French origin
A campaign that looks quite positive this year, although communication work still needs to be done with wholesalers in particular: "Some continue to sell Spanish blueberries, for which the margins are more interesting than with the French ones. But at a given moment, you have to switch to the French origin. I am also working to shift sales more and more towards 200g trays instead of 125g trays. This is causing a lot of discussion, but little by little we will have to move towards this format.”

Invest in the sector for the future
The season, which began on June 13, will end around July 23. The SCEA is preparing to go into full production over the next 5 weeks. At the end of the harvest, Jocelyn Joncour will work with the producers' union and ask the Government for help to develop and structure the sector: “Today, the soft fruit sector is Interfel's poor relation. The New Aquitaine region represents between 60 and 70% of French blueberry production, and the sector is in dire need of aid so that the new generation can settle. Instead of thinking only in terms of emergency compensation, it would be more interesting to invest structurally in the sector for the future.”