Recently, the International Blueberry Association (IBO) released a new season of the global blueberry industry data report, the global blueberry production areas and countries of blueberry production, planting area and production, production area distribution, supply period, major varieties and other aspects to make a detailed data analysis, aims to analyze the current situation of the industry from the perspective of comprehensive data information, and promote the healthy and sustainable development of the blueberry industry.
The data published in the report shows that by 2021, the global blueberry planting area has reached 235,400 hectares, with a total production of 1,789,600 tons, while the forecast of this season’s blueberry production is expected to exceed 2 million tons. From the perspective of blueberry planting area, China ranks first with 69,000 hectares, followed by the United States 48,100 hectares, Chile 18,800 hectares, Peru 16,900 hectares, Canada 12,200 hectares, Poland, Mexico, Ukraine, Spain and South Africa’s blueberry planting area from high to low ranging from 3,500-11,000 hectares.
In terms of blueberry production, the global blueberry production in 2021 increased significantly by 21% year-on-year. Among them, blueberry production in the Americas was 963,900 tons, accounting for 53.9%; Asia-Pacific production was 525,800 tons, accounting for 29.4%; the combined production of Europe, Africa and the Middle East was 299,900 tons, accounting for 16.8%. Blueberry production ranked in the top five countries in order: China 474,100 tons, the United States 328,200 tons, Peru 261,500 tons, Chile 185,300 tons, Mexico 84,700, of which China and Peru’s blueberry production increased more than the previous season, up 60.5% and 45.6% respectively. It is worth noting that the production of fresh blueberries in Peru reached 243,400 tons in 2021, an increase of 50% year-on-year, which is the largest producer of fresh blueberry supply in the world. It is followed by China with 208,200 tons of fresh fruit supply, the United States with 177,100 tons, Chile with 122,900 tons and Mexico with 83,200 tons. In addition, the supply of fresh blueberries from China also increased by 46.8% year-on-year.
In terms of blueberry exports, Peruvian blueberry exports are also continuing to grow significantly, topping the list of fresh fruit exports. Statistics show that since the 2014/15 season exports of 85,600 tons, Peruvian blueberry exports show a significant annual growth, to 2021/22 season, the total exports of blueberries has reached 227,500 tons, an increase of 35% over the previous year, the export value of more than 1.2 billion U.S. dollars, an increase of 23%. Peruvian blueberry exports have now surpassed avocado, becoming the second largest exported fruit category in Peru after fresh grapes. The main destinations of Peruvian blueberry exports are the United States, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, China, the United Kingdom and China, with exports of 124,500 tons, 52,900 tons, 17,300 tons, 13,200 tons and 11,500 tons respectively in 2021, of which exports to China (including Hong Kong, China) have increased significantly by 68% year-on-year, more than the United States, Europe and the United Kingdom.
The report also made a forecast for future blueberry production, which is expected to reach 3 million tons globally by 2025. However, the report also mentioned that due to some uncertainties, such as the expansion of blueberry land shortage, water shortage and rising labor costs, especially in the Latin American blueberry growing region, these factors greatly limit the increase in blueberry production. Considering the possible negative impact of these factors, the report also revised the forecast data accordingly. Conservative estimates suggest that global blueberry production is expected to reach around 2.4 million tons by 2025.
At present, the blueberry industry has become the world’s second largest berry industry after the strawberry industry. The development of the global blueberry industry also shows the trend of diversification of origin, South America, Europe and East Asia are narrowing the gap with the cultivation giant North America. Data statistics show that China’s blueberry production is continuing to grow rapidly at an average annual rate of 65.72%, and blueberry imports are also growing at an average annual rate of 23.66%. These data show that after more than ten years of development, China’s blueberry market is still not saturated and the consumer demand may continue to grow. In addition, the Chinese blueberry consumption market is still dominated by the consumption of fresh blueberries, and the proportion of frozen blueberries is low low. This is different from the largest blueberry production and consumption in the Americas, where the consumption of blueberries is dominated by frozen blueberries. Therefore, the future of frozen blueberries in the Chinese market still has a large potential for development.
Source: International Fruit and Vegetable Report
Post time: Oct-21-2022