According to a report in the Riverford magazine Wicked Leeks, UK blueberry growers are reducing production and grubbing out plantations due to increasing competition from cheap imports from Peru.
Scottish grower Ross Mitchell posted a video online showing him grubbing up 10 of his 90 hectares of blueberry crops. He commented, “With blueberry growing in the UK being squeezed so much by cheap imports, it’s resorted to turning them into compost. These bushes were some of the first planted in the UK. As a nation, we are happy to outsource our food security. How sustainable is that model?
“Polish crops have always been there and [they are] not a cheap product so we can compete. It’s Peruvian mainly that’s flooding the market and with their cost of labour we cannot compete.”
New varieties which go not require frost to mature the buds have helped warmer countries such as Peru increase their presence in the market. This season Peru is predicted to export almost 300,000 tonnes of the crop and according to Wicked Leeks, only 11% of blueberries in UK supermarkets this year are likely to be homegrown.
Last year grower Peter Thomson gave away most of his crop to charity due to low supermarket prices. “Blueberries were the main part of our business and after the 2021 season, it was apparent that supermarket prices were below cost of production and would only get lower, despite costs going higher,” he said. “Most blueberry growers I spoke to are very unhappy.”
Some growers have called for more to be done to highlight the sustainability of the British crop, and the food miles involved in importing berries from South America.
