The blueberry production season in Spain is in full harvest and after the excellent prices achieved at the beginning, close to € 6 / kg., A fall came that finally stopped and stabilized at values ​​of around € 3 - € 3.5 / kg.

The harvest of the Spanish season, which is already in the middle of the expected volumes for 2020, finds its main destination in the large retail chains of the world market, which then direct the fruit to the final consumers, placing the fruit at prices that They fluctuate between € 12 and € 24.

Regarding the world supply of blueberries, of the total volume projected for 2020, a good part of it is harvested in Spain, mainly in Huelva, despite all the current problems caused by the pandemic. 

The season in Huelva runs from March to June and almost a month ago they stopped the fall in prices, even showing a rise that began to be projected from week 17 onwards until reaching values ​​close to € 3.50 / kg, which is an opposite trend to the usual, if we compare it with previous seasons in the Spanish blueberry industry.

In fact, current prices, which reach € 3.50 / kg. they mean a 12% increase compared to the same date of the previous season.

The average purchase price for the production of fresh blueberries in Huelva in week 17 was € 3.36 / kg., Which compared to the same period of the 2019 harvest season meant a value higher by 15%, due to that in that week of 2019 the price was € 2.92

In summary, the average price of Spanish blueberries for the first 16 weeks of the 2020 season was € 4.81 / kg. and for the same period in 2019 a price of € 4,45 / kg was achieved.

It is important to analyze and consider these comparative data, since the feeling of a global crisis due to COVID19 tends to generate uncertainty and negative expectations in the industry, which according to reality does not have much support, on the contrary, according to this Information not only demonstrates a rise in prices, but the historical decline trend has stopped and is reversing, unlike in 2019 when the trend continued to fall until reaching a minimum of € 2.23 / kg.

It should be clarified that, although it is true that the average purchase price of blueberries in Huelva is better compared to the previous year, it is still lower compared to the average of the last five years, mainly due to the greater supply caused by the increase in the number of hectares and the highest yields achieved.

Harvest with COVID19

Undoubtedly, the pandemic that affects the world will have a strong impact on all human activities in the immediate future, and in the case of the Huelva cranberry industry, procedures have been implemented that go in the direction of guaranteeing consumers that the most high standards of sanitation in each of the stages of the process, from the most important to the most daily in the production chain.

Regarding the harvest stage, which is in full development, measures have been taken to protect the human health of the employees, from care in handling, when picking the fruit, to protection in the selection, packaging or packaging processes of the fruit.