Holland tripled its import in five years
The consumption of blueberries in European countries continues to rise. However, the Dutch market seems to be the one that has shown more interest in the product, according to estimates made by the CBS news network.
The investigation presents concrete figures, being one of the most outstanding the growth of the purchase of blueberries in supermarkets in 250%, if it is compared with the numbers that are known since the 2013 year.
This trend of blueberry intake remained on the rise during the first half of the 2018, according to CBS. In fact, they point out that the highest purchase incidence occurs during the month of May in all the years analyzed.
But there are other berries that have earned a space on the table of the Dutch. Black and red currants, as well as blackberries and raspberries are gaining more territory within the European market preference.
It is known that this year the area of open field of berries grew 11%, so it is estimated that one thousand 930 hectares of land are used for its cultivation. The CBS emphasizes that the areas cultivated under glass were not taken into account.
In the particular case of cranberry, its expansion meant 17% of land only in 2017, while so far this year its cultivation has been extended through additional 970 hectares.
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The popularity of the blueberry took off in Holland when it began to associate its consumption with good health. So much so, that it is considered the third variety of fruit with the highest production in that country, only behind the traditional pears and apples.
The Netherlands led in 2016 a ranking of the largest production area of blueberries in Europe. In that territory 780 hectares of land were counted for this item, in comparison to its closest competitor, Poland, which only accumulated 540 hectares.
On the countries to which the Netherlands buys more blueberries, the CBS argues that between 2013 and 2014 Spain and Chile were the most benefited markets. However, between 2015 and 2016 the trend changed, since Peru took most of the exports to that European country.
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