«A well-informed blueberry market is more stable and healthy»
Since 2005, the global blueberry industry has experienced enormous growth and, although its pace appears to have begun to slow, it is still booming around the world. At the recent Global Berry Congress in Rotterdam, industry leaders shared their knowledge throughout the day, with the first of their workshops titled “Blueberries: Trends and Forecasts.”
Peter McPherson of the IBO and CEO of Costa, stresses that the problems of market access and food security affect all countries, that the IBO continues to help its members and that it believes that emphasizing the benefits of blueberries for the health are the key to success for this industry.
«The basis for the growth of the industry in recent years have been the health benefits. The work of the Highbush cranberry council of EE. UU It has been decisive, since, for example, it has just announced a new financing project of 4,5 million dollars to carry out more clinical research on health«explains McPherson.
For its part, Cort Brazelton, of Fall Creek Farm and Nursery, shares figures compiled by the IBO to illustrate the magnitude of this growth.
Brazelton adds that «Another key to success is generating transparency in the global supply of blueberries, especially in the fresh segment, over the next few years. A well-informed market is more stable and healthy, especially for those who are most involved in it: producers, national handlers and other professionals.
Cranberries are mostly consumed in three main markets: North America, Europe and Asia / Pacific.
Between 2010 and 2012, the production of blueberries increased by 124.000 tons, while the growth between 2005 and 2010 was even higher, and the figures indicate that the world producers have slightly reduced the rate since this period, but that they are still booming, and world production continues to increase 100.000 tons every two years.
North America remains the world's largest producer, by far. In perspective, only the state of Michigan produced twice as many cranberries as all of Peru, given that growth in South America has declined considerably. Although Peru leads the continent, Chile and Argentina will not continue to grow as rapidly as in recent years. On the other side of the ocean, blueberry production in Spain continues to boom and will equip the production of the state of California.
The production of wild blueberries, which are used for the frozen sector, has also increased. Although they do not usually receive as much attention as fresh produce, they make up the 50% of the sector, and, before, producers could change from fresh to frozen according to their results of the season, but Brazelton and John Shelford, from Naturipe, clarify that It is not viable.
«Frozen blueberries are a scale business that does not offer enormous profits, and in the processing sector there are some very big players that have emerged in recent years»says Brazelton.
John Shelford delves into this topic in his talk about the frozen market: «The processing market is extremely important, although it is often overlooked. The frozen market sets the base price based on the expectations of the fresh market, and has been growing as much as the fresh market, or even more, driven by demand for smoothies. However, that market appears to have stabilized, and we are working with the USDA to begin offering individual containers of frozen blueberries to encourage consumption among younger people. The industry has to continue innovating to be able to reach these groups.".
Brazelton stresses that success in the industry depends on knowing the markets. Large polyethylene bags sold in the USA UU They are not suitable for European consumers, who usually have small freezers, so, in their opinion, 500 grams bags are more suitable for this market.
However, Shelford concludes with something that makes the industry think: "It's important to remember that when we encourage consumers to eat more blueberries, we are displacing other fruits, especially citrus in the US.".
Source: Freshplaza.es
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