August seems to be the month to promote conventional blueberries. “Over the last few weeks, we have seen historically low domestic production figures. August will be full of opportunities to promote conventional and organic blueberries as the North American crop continues with decent volume and Peru will start to arrive with larger volumes,” says Brian Bocock, Vice President of Product Management at Naturipe. He adds that organic blueberry volumes will also increase this month.

Peru will ship more substantial volumes at the end of August.

Meanwhile, in North America, blueberries are currently being harvested in Michigan, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. North American production will peak during the first 10 days of August and then remain flat through the end of the month. “Peru will pick up any decline in North American volumes from August 10,” Bocock adds.

It has been a unique year for blueberry production. Bocock says it had one of its most challenging spring weather patterns in years with several frosts affecting blueberry crops in the Southeast. California also saw frosts as well as rises and falls in temperatures during the spring that affected both blueberries and strawberries. “This weather, coupled with poor pollination weather, has caused the average size of blueberries to be smaller than in previous years,” he says.

For Naturipe, their focus is on their proprietary Mighty Blues variety, a giant variety that can be twice the size of your average blueberry. “Our Mighty Blues will soon be peaking in production from Peru and will be available for the next few months,” says Bocock.

Berries are still popular

Meanwhile, the demand for blueberries is strong. Bocock says fresh berries continue to top consumers' shopping lists and fresh blueberries, strawberries and raspberries are posting strong double-digit growth in the latest IRI data. “Consumers are really finding value in larger volumes, like our 18 oz. clam shells,” he adds.

He also points out that as long as the industry continues to offer quality, consumption should continue to increase. “We need to help by keeping prices higher than in the past. Our input costs have increased significantly from just a year ago,” he says, noting that these increased costs are the biggest challenges for growers and exporters right now. “Fuel costs will play a big factor in where retailers source not just their blueberries but all of their produce. There's no question that bringing a truck across the country is significantly more expensive this year than it was last year. We are seeing more demand for blueberry sources east of the Rocky Mountains than in the past due to freight rates."

As for this month's prices, they are expected to be in line with historical prices, unlike in July, when record prices were observed. Prices must also remain stable and provide promotional opportunities.