While some growers start in mid-July depending on their location and the pruning of the previous season, mid-August will generally be the start for blueberries from central Mexico.

“The plants look very healthy and the fruit looks good. Right now, the highest temperatures are 71ºF and the low in the early morning hours is 46 to 50ºF. This is very good for the fruit to gain sugar and size”, says Gerardo López from Produce Lovers. “We are going to see more blueberries in both the early and late seasons as the farms are developing and maturing and production is increasing on each one.”

Quality improvements

With these additional and mature farms, the development and focus on the quality of Mexican blueberries also continues. “Retailers in North America, the UK and Asia are starting to notice the quality of Mexican blueberries. It is a good eating experience because it has a good size, flavor and texture and that is what the consumer is looking for ”, says López.

At that time, British Columbia, Canada, as well as late US production from Michigan and Washington state will compete with Mexican blueberries. "Then there is an availability gap that Mexico covers from September to mid-November and then Peru begins to arrive strongly in mid-November," says López.

Meanwhile, according to the lawsuit, Lopez says there are signs that demand for blueberries should increase by 10 to 20 percent. “The pandemic has forced people to eat at home, so there is more demand at the retail level. And it is to be hoped that this trend of people to eat healthy will continue ”, he adds. He also notes that given the reopening of food service in North America, while Produce Lovers anticipates increased demand, it is likely not to reach pre-pandemic levels.

Packaging issues

The defiant movement of blueberries will be the continuation of a problem that arose in the pandemic: access to cardboard. “Last season we had challenges with cardboard due to many factories and North America and Europe closed due to the pandemic. Some companies began to experience shortages, it seems that it is no longer stable. Also online shopping has required a large amount of packaging materials. They are using a lot more boxes than they used to and that puts pressure on the availability of fresh produce, ”says López.

As for next season's prices, López notes that it will largely depend on how well retailers market the fruit. While prices tend to be stronger until October, once the Peruvian fruit starts arriving, the volume and sometimes the lack of promotions push prices lower. "So we expect a healthy market until October and by November it will start to decline and then it will recover at the end of February," says López.