Blueberry growing conditions are "promising" in the Northeast US

Conditions for blueberry crops are "promising" in the Northeast US

13/08/2018

The blueberry harvest season in some lands in the northeastern part of the United States began last 1 ° in August. And although not many days have passed since then, some already point out that this will be a "prosperous" plantation for the local market.

The fields of Lynch Hill Farms, located in the state of Maine, are the promise of the season 2018 of these berries, and some of its producers are already enthusiastic about it.

Courtney Hammond, manager of these lands, quoted by the newspaper The Ellsworth American, pointed out that the estimate is to grow some 120 hectares of blueberries. He added that one of the reasons for the good expectation was the good quality of the spring.

In this regard, Nicolas Lindholm, owner of the company Blue Hill Berry, said that the good weather conditions, in addition to the optimal pollination in the land already cultivated will bring a good quality product.

Reverse

The cranberry market in Maine (USA) had its moment of glory during the 2014, in which it contributed 129 million dollars to the North American market. However, last year suffered a resounding fall, when he could only bill US $ 87 million.

Specialists stressed that this great decline had to do with the oversaturation of the US market, the leader in the production and export of blueberries worldwide.

Another aspect against the Maine market is its proximity to Canada, one of its biggest competitors, and whose production of bush blueberries is becoming increasingly attractive.

Faced with the problem, the Wild Bueberry Commission of Maine asked the Department of Argiculture of the United States to purchase four tons of frozen blueberries, which will be distributed among local producers.

Nancy McBrady, executive director of the Wild Blueberry Commission in Maine, said "this will help the market get established." She added that "the buyback would be 2016 and 2017 frozen blueberries that remain in freezers."

Also, McBrady explained that the product will be distributed to school lunch programs, food banks and social service agencies in the region, in order to take advantage of them.

Source

Paúl Rivas Gonzalez - Blueberries Consulting