ZIMBABWE aims to significantly increase its blueberry export capacity from the 8.000 tonnes planned for this year to 30.000 tonnes by 2030, if the lack of availability of patient capital and other operational challenges are addressed.

The Horticulture Development Council (HDC) said it was critical to have the right policies in place, leverage patient capital and address current operational challenges to meet the target.

In addition, in a recent update, the HDC said that blueberries are currently grown on 570 hectares, and this figure is expected to increase to 1.500 by 2030, if a substantial patient capital investment of around US$240 million is leveraged.

“By 2024, the industry expects to increase production to 8.000 tonnes, and this growth is due to plant maturity and higher yields rather than new plantings.

This reflects the funding challenges that the industry continues to face, despite recent growth,” HDC said.

Challenges militating against projected growth include issues such as land tenure security, poor road infrastructure in some areas, high utility costs and an unfavourable exchange rate system, the HDC continued.

“We are working with the Zimbabwe Investment Development Authority (ZIDA) to establish special economic zones and sector-specific incentives. This would offer tax breaks and incentives to attract investment. Energy costs are high, but this presents opportunities for investments in renewable energy for irrigation and cold chain infrastructure,” the HDC said.

Zimbabwe’s unique selling proposition (USP) in the blueberry industry is quality, taste and production time.

Currently, Zimbabwean berries access European Union (EU) markets via the Netherlands, which acts as a hub for fresh produce in the bloc.

Zimbabwe's next major goal is to enter the Indian and Chinese markets, and the HDC is currently working to secure a phytosanitary agreement for blueberries with these new markets.

In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), the Netherlands Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia, Ms Margret Verwijk, concurred, saying that 6 million kilograms of Zimbabwean blueberries had been shipped to Amsterdam (the gateway to Europe), Hong Kong and the Middle East, and that a Dutch company, FX Logistics, was helping Zimbabwean farmers.

Meanwhile, statistics from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStats) show that the value of berries increased marginally by one percent from US$2.134.545 in the first half of 2023 to US$2.150.936 in the comparable period this year.

In terms of volume, it decreased from 1.190.916 kg to 1.187.593 kg. With this shipment confirmed in the Netherlands and shipments in July and August, it is very likely that the 8.000 tonnes forecast for this year will be exceeded.

Zimbabwe’s blueberry industry began with small experimental plantations in 2008, but it was not until 2017 that the country made its debut on the global market with its first commercial exports of the crop.

Since then, the area under blueberry cultivation has grown to 507 hectares in 2023. The blueberry marketing season runs from April to October and 60 percent of the crop is harvested between August and October.

There has been a phenomenal five-year growth in export earnings in the berry sub-sector of 810 per cent from US$1 million in 2018 to US$12 million in 2022 as the roll-out of the Horticulture Growth Recovery Plan (HRGP) gathers pace. Statistics from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStats) show that the value of export earnings from the berry sub-sector increased by 810 per cent from US$1.285.686 in 2018 to US$12.337.470 in 2022.

In terms of volume, it increased by 769 percent, from 527.134 kg in 2018 to 4.582.185 kg in 2022.