Last month the International Blueberry Organization published its anticipated 2023 State of the Global Blueberry Industry report. Among the reports findings was a move to southern hemisphere production and increasing challenges for UK growers.
‘Sometime either in 2023 or 2024, the industry will see more fresh volumes shipped globally between October 15 and November 15th than in the month of July, driven by Peru and various other newer sources of supply,’ the report says. Peru is now the world leader in blueberry exports, growing more than 286 tonnes 2022-23. It is the UK’s largest source of overseas blueberries exporting 14.74 tonnes to the UK in 2022, up from 13.19 tonnes the previous year.
The report also reveals that blueberry production in the UK, grew by 1.7 metric tonnes last year. Of 665 hectares of production, 42% were defined as ‘hydroponics’ and 32% were under structure. New genetics and organic combined accounted for 11%, but it is not clear how some of these categories are defined.
The authors warn that a combination of factors, including Brexit, labour shortages, soaring costs and inflation, severely dampened what could be a promising story for blueberry production in the UK. Unless these variables and perception changes, the report says that blueberry growing in the UK may not be sustainable.
‘What is relevant is that consumers do not have a history of associating blueberries with being British, and therefore there is little loyalty to the British brand compared to, say, strawberries which command a significant premium,’ the report notes. “Retailers are taking opportunities to buy cheaper imported fruit. The only reason many [growers] have not been taken out is that the investment in the crop is significant and growers are thinking that they can ride out the current problems. New plantings are largely limited to those that were already planned before the current circumstances, and some growers will be coming out of the crop over the next 2-3 years.’