From the Northern Hemisphere: Ukraine is positioned as the main supplier of frozen blueberries to China
According to the Ukrainian media, exports of frozen blueberries to China during the first four months of 2020 reached a total value of USD $ 6 million, representing a five-and-a-half year increase in relation to 2019. This makes Ukraine a The main supplier of frozen blueberries to China, surpassing Canada, Sweden, Latvia, Belarus, Russia and Poland.
Frozen blueberries are the only product that Ukraine currently exports to China, and this year marks the sixth consecutive year of exports. In 2015, the export value totaled $ 383,000, with continued growth of $ 2.8 million in 2018. Exports increased further in 2019 to a total value of $ 10 million. Experts predict that frozen blueberry exports to China in 2020 will set a new record.
China's blueberry market has expanded rapidly in recent years. The total market value is forecast to reach 40 billion yuan (USD $ 5,7 billion) by 2025 with production exceeding 400,000 tons, making China the world's largest producer and consumer market.
However, compared to fresh blueberries, frozen blueberries only occupy a small portion of the market. This is in contrast to North America, the current largest blueberry grower and consumer market, where frozen blueberries represent a sizeable share of the market.
The main variety of blueberries in North America is the highbush blueberry. The annual production volume is currently around 340.000 tons, of which 200.000 tons (59%) are fresh and 140,000 tons (41%) are frozen. From this perspective, frozen blueberries still have great development potential in the Chinese market.