Centra Blue is a new selection of New Zealand origin, from Plant and Food Research, which can be found in Multibaies nurseries. It is adapted to the French edaphoclimatic conditions, it produces berries generally from the end of August, a period that coincides with the end of Polish production, until mid-October. «The particularity of this variety is that it is very late. There is no place in the world where a variety is so late. And, in a context where the world of berries is relatively speculative, there is always an interest in producing sooner or later than others. Centra Blue represents a real commercial opportunity for independent producers and has the great advantage of being a freely distributed variety," explains Mathieu Billotte, director of the Multibaies company.

For this very late variety with large fruits and good keeping quality, France seems to be a particularly interesting production area: «The most pertinent thing to plant a variety like Centra Blue is to do it in late areas in order to obtain the greatest advantages, commercially. talking. In terms of temperatures, northern Portugal and Spain are suitable, but there are restrictions regarding significant rainfall. On the other hand, France, in the southern part up to Anjou, is a very good candidate," explains Mathieu.

In addition, the variety will benefit from the EU certification from 2022. This two-part certification is based on EPPO (European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization) standards, which implies, on the one hand, health guarantees and, on the other, varietal conformity. .

«Large distribution demands more and more blueberries originating in France»

80% of Multibaies' seedling production is destined for export, especially to Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Serbia, Romania, Turkey and Georgia. Although blueberry consumption in France is mainly oriented towards foreign origins, the situation will evolve. «Blueberry consumption in the country increases every year. Furthermore, on the French market there is a shortage of blueberries originating in France. But large-scale distribution demands more and more, thus inducing changes at the base of the sector.
The Centra Blue variety

About Multibaies
Multibaies is one of the few European historical agents specialized in blueberry planting. «What differentiates us from our competition is the total mastery of our experience in production and the multiplication process vitro«explains Mathieu.

The nursery, which produces around a million seedlings a year, is aimed at three types of clients: garden centers, independent fruit producers who have access to a catalog of freely distributed varieties, such as Centra Blue, and key agents of the genetics owners sector. «On the subject of fruit production, there is a very broad trend towards vertical integration, in other words, the development of club varieties. The business model is based on intellectual property, the biggest fear of these clients is losing control of the variety. This is the reason why they need trusted nurserymen, like Multibaies, to whom they can trust their production, since, in general, the multiplier low cost usually high risk regarding intellectual property," concludes Mathieu.