Yunnan is an excellent blueberry production area in China. Yunnan blueberries usually enter the production peak in March, and then the market volume gradually increases. This year, the supply situation is slightly different. After the Chinese New Year, at the end of January and beginning of February, many blueberries went on the market intensively. From March to early April, the volume of blueberries decreased, with a large number of blueberries entering the market in mid to late April. Changes in supply caused fluctuations in the market.

“In recent years, Yunnan has introduced new blueberry varieties, which hit the market earlier, and the market performance is good,” explains Ma Hongbing (Mark Ma) of Manshi Blueberry.

“The situation of the classic blueberry varieties in Yunnan this season is similar to that of previous years. This year, the one that hit the market early, after the Chinese New Year, is an exclusive variety imported from Spain by independent plantations. The new variety performs well in terms of hardness and sweetness, and the market response is satisfactory. This variety was already on the market last year, but the production was not large, but this year the yield has increased considerably."

According to Mark, due to the relative slowness of the fruit market after the Chinese New Year, blueberry prices on the market at that time were not high. The price of the medium fruit with a diameter of 14+ was about ￥120/box, and the price of the large fruit with a diameter of 18+ was about ￥155/box. In March, the new variety was nearing the end of the production season, and production was reduced, while the classic variety had not yet started full-scale production. This caused the market to go from “concentrated arrival” to “low stock”, and the price rose. “At that time, medium blueberries went up to ￥180-190/box, and large berries ￥230/box, which was a 50% increase since they hit the market. Afterwards, the supply of classic varieties gradually increased, and the price of blueberries dropped accordingly."

“Overall, due to increased production of new varieties this year, Yunnan blueberries came on the market earlier. In March, due to the period between the production of classic and new varieties, arrivals decreased. Later, a large number of classic varieties came onto the market. Prior to April 15, the blueberry market was slightly higher than the same period in previous years and remained basically the same after that.”

Manshi Blueberry mainly grows Jewel Blueberry, and has tried planting internationally licensed proprietary varieties, which will be released in batches in the 2024 production season. Jewel Blueberry is a common planting variety in China, but hardness and flavor are difficult to control. . We have made progress adjusting the formula of water and fertilizer, which reduces acidity, increases hardness and produces a high proportion of large fruits. At present, we are the only company in Yunnan that directly cooperates with distributors with the Jewel Blueberry variety.”

The parent company of Manshi Blueberry was established in 2019, focusing on the cultivation and sale of blueberries. The existing blueberry acreage is around 46,66 hectares, and the family plantation is almost 20 hectares. It is planned to expand the plantation to 66,66 hectares next year. The company's own brand is Manshi Blueberry, and its customers include Hema Fresh, China Resources Vanguard and Yonghui Superstores.