In 2000, blueberries were just a niche crop in Oregon, because the production volume came from other states, like Michigan and New Jersey. Today, the American Northwest is the world's leading blueberry growing region.

Oregon's blueberry production has nearly quadrupled over the past decade, from 47 million pounds produced, fresh and processed, in 2009, to more than 150 million pounds last season.

More competition and costs

Experts agree that the industry continues to expand and blueberries grow in awareness and preference by consumers. However, growing foreign competition and higher labor costs have affected prices significantly, forcing producers, companies, and industry to innovate to stay competitive.

Production has increased and it is also facing greater competition in the market, coming from shipments from Mexico, Chile and Peru, which are flooding the markets with fruit, leaving behind the moments of great profitability of the product that the US farms enjoyed. during decades.

In this search, local consumption is being looked at directly, from farm to consumer, although commercial research regarding the penetration of blueberries in North American households does not reach 40%, still very low compared to strawberries , which has an index that exceeds 70%

The price threat

A few years ago, prices fluctuated between USD 0.40 and USD 1.25 per pound for blueberries, however, the current reality is that this fluctuation only moves in a range that goes from USD 0.45 to USD 0.65 per pound. To make it a sustainable and profitable business, producers need a profit margin of around $ 0.55 to $ 0.60 per pound, which is becoming very difficult or nearly impossible for small farms to achieve.

Producers emphasize the need to innovate and use more technology, as well as the development of better plant genetics, to keep their businesses competitive amid the changing blueberry market.

Late harvest

Mainly, the industry is working to improve its late varieties to compete mainly with Peruvian production. Oregon State University is leading part of this research and the North Willamette Research and Extension Center, at the same academic institution, houses the world's only certified organic blueberry research plant.

The objective of the industry is to try to have a more stable production supply, because concentrating the supply in large peaks causes as a result a fall in the price due to the large volume.

Other challenges

On the other hand, labor costs continue to rise. This year, the minimum wage in Oregon reaches $ 14.75 per hour in the Portland metropolitan area and $ 12.50 in non-urban counties. This forces producers to look for more mechanization technology, including optical combines and sorters at balers to save on labor.

In this scenario, it becomes almost impossible for small producers, who have historically been the backbone of the blueberry industry, to remain profitable or in force to compete, as it will be increasingly difficult for them to finance labor costs, infrastructure and the new food safety certifications required by packaging lines.

From farm to consumer

In this perspective, the alternative route for small farms is to seek the direct trade form, transferring their products from the farm to the consumer or to small markets. Experts and analysts say that consumers are hungry for a closer connection with the origin of their food. They want to know where it is from, who produces it and how they produce it, so direct marketing is a good alternative.

In fact, while farm sales account for the minority of Oregon blueberries, the channel has increased nearly six-fold, from just under 3 million pounds in 2009 to nearly 16 million pounds in 2019, according to the Commission. of Oregon Blueberries.