Global blueberry consumption is increasing rapidly. The IBO (International Blueberry Organization) assumes that consumption will double from 1 million tons to 2 million tons in 7 to 10 years. This is huge and a couple of actions must be taken to provide the volumes.

If we focus on Europe and Central Asia, this means that this region has to plant 22.000 ha to cover consumer needs and this will not be enough as the old varieties have to be replanted.

Why are blueberries interesting?

For the consumers

It is easy to eat and they are very healthy since it is one of the few Superfruits with a high antioxidant content.

Also, and this is different with other varieties, the taste is loved by all categories of consumers. In the United States, 1,2 kg per capita is consumed on average. European consumption has grown in the last 2 years with more than 20% and already reaches 250 g per capita. The projections are to reach more than 900g in the next 6 to 8 years, mainly driven by the combination of health and flavor.

Consumers around the world continue to hear about the new and positive health benefits of including blueberries in their diet. New health research (the Circles Study - USA) was recently published that scientifically demonstrates that blueberries will reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease and / or dementia, as well as type 2 diabetes.

For the Producer / investor

The new genetics and varieties of blueberries will give higher yields and higher prices. A blueberry plant will grow easily for 15 years and the return on investment is quite short compared to other crops.

The selling prices of blueberries are much higher compared to all other local fruits. According to EastFruit price monitoring, average prices of blueberry growers in Ukraine in the current season were 18 times higher per kg than apple prices (215 UAH for blueberries versus 11,7 UAH for apples ), in Georgia and Poland farmers got 13 times more for each kg of blueberries than for each kg of apples (14,2 GEL vs. 1,1 GEL and 21,4 PLN vs. 1,6 PLN correspondingly). Fall Creek has agronomists and economists on their teams to compare potential and business plans with you.

The key to success is choosing the right varieties: most are good “in the field”, but a modern fresh fruit supply chain is required to meet the needs of the European, Russian or Azian consumer more than the taste of the weed: today a firm berry is needed after 30 days of shipping/carriage to arrive in good condition to be sold to consumers. In addition, we see that buyers prefer a berry that tastes good and preferably uniform in size, as in other fresh categories: consistent consistent quality.

 For a supermarket / consumer

Supermarkets see the category growing rapidly and in the UK the blueberry category today is higher in value than strawberries (lower volumes but higher prices). Consumption in this region is already above 1 kg per capita and is driven primarily by quality. To improve quality, supermarkets ban old varieties such as Chandler, BlueCrop, Eliott, which has a great impact on old plantations, and on the other hand, it is a great opportunity for newcomers to the industry: if they plant the varieties suitable and new, you can be sure of the interest of the supermarkets: firm, crisp and tasteful will be the keywords.