The consumption of soft fruit is rising faster than the consumption increase for the total fruit segment in Europe. Cindy van Rijswick of Rabobank presented the latest figures on the developments in the sector during the Global Berry Congress. Besides the rise of the blueberries, the share of raspberries and blackberries is also growing.
The growth is the largest for blueberries and raspberries, which can rejoice in a 6 to 7 percent increase in consumption. The strawberry market, although noting a small growth of 2 percent, is saturated. Fast growers in the consumption of blueberries are the United Kingdom and Germany. In these countries the consumption of this berry is growing at an above average rate. Other countries where the blueberry is quickly winning popularity are the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Poland and the Czech Republic. For strawberries it is mainly Sweden, Denmark and Spain who are consuming the fruit more.
American consumption
The market on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean is also shifting. Whereas in 2005 90 percent of the consumption of fresh soft fruit consisted of strawberries and blueberries only took up 7 percent of the market, this image largely changed in 2014. Strawberries are still worth most of the consumption, at 76 percent, but the other soft fruit varieties are being consumed increasingly often. In absolute figures this comes to a consumption of 700 grams of blueberries and 3.5 kilos of strawberries per capita per year. Blueberries conquered a market share of 15 percent and raspberries and blackberries also increased considerably. In 2004 raspberries were only 2 percent of the market, whereas in 2014 this was 5 percent. For blackberries, although still small in volume, the growth figures are also spectacular, the market share rose from 1 percent in 2005 to 4 percent in 2014.
"There are opportunities for the sector," says Cindy. "Better varieties, longer season, collaboration in the chain can further raise consumption." An American study further shows that 85 percent of Americans never buy blueberries or raspberries. Another study looked at the price elasticity of the soft fruit. According to the report a decrease in price of 10 percent matches an increase in demand of 10 to 20 percent.
Rise of organic
Another development that Cindy sees is the rise of the organic cultivation. The cultivation can mainly be found in Eastern Europe, strawberries have not been included in these figures. Poland is the largest producer of organic berries by far. The country has between 14,000 and 15,000 hectares of organic cultivation. In 2008 the area didn't rise above 14,000. Second on the list is Lithuania, with an area of just over 4,000 hectares, a small increase compared to 2008. Spain takes the third place in hectares and the lead in fastest growers. The country had around 1,000 hectares of organic berry cultivation in 2008, in 2014 it had grown to over 4,000 hectares. Other countries, with areas under 2,000 hectares, who fill the top are Germany, Estonia, Bulgaria, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Italy. The growth of the organic berries can also be seen on the sales side. Tesco recently reported an increase of 34 percent in the sales of organic soft fruit.
Competition and quality
This doesn't mean there are no challenges to be faced. Sustainability and disease control are continuous challenges. What can also be damaging to the sector is (too) low quality of the soft fruit, as well as competition. "It might sound odd, as competition can bring improvements," explains Cindy. "But if competition pressures the margins and causes price erosion, this can be damaging."
"South Africa, Peru, Morocco, Romania, Portugal and Spain," Cindy identifies a number of countries where large investments are being made in soft fruit cultivation. Looking at the countries on the southern hemisphere, Chile and Argentina are absolutely number 1 and 2. The production figures come to around 90,000 tonnes for Chile and a tight 20,000 tonnes for Argentina. Yet Peru and South Africa are strongly rising. South Africa saw production rise from less than 500 tonnes in 2008 to over 1,500 tonnes in 2014. The growth of the Peruvian cultivation is even more spectacular. In 2012 a Peruvian blueberry wasn't yet available, two years later the production is at around 3,000 tonnes.
Greenhouse strawberries, blackberries and raspberries
A striking shift is visible in the strawberry market, which directly underlines what trend watchers have been saying for a while: the consumer is prepared to pay more for quality. Dutch greenhouse strawberries produce around 5.74 Euro per kilo, whilst the Spanish and Moroccan strawberries go for around 2 Euro per kilo. "We see a lot of growth in the demand for Dutch strawberries, partially due to the difference in quality," says Cindy. "The price is no longer the main concern for the consumer. There is also a lot of investment in greenhouse strawberries in the Netherlands."
The global trade in raspberries and blackberries has increase hugely in the past ten years. Whereas in 2004 less than 120,000 tonnes was shipped over the world's oceans, this amount was just under 180,000 tonnes in 2014. Five countries with considerable areas are Spain, Portugal, Poland, Serbia and Morocco. Of these countries only Poland saw the area decrease between 2004 and 2014, from around 30,000 hectares in 2004 to less than 20,000 hectares in 2014. Spain had a 15% growth, Serbia saw the area increase by almost 10 percent. The largest growth can be found in Portugal with around 50 percent growth and Morocco, where the area grew by almost 70 percent.
What the future will look like? "I expect 15 large players who supply to retail all year round to remain," predicts Cindy. "These are partially integrated players. It's important for the growers that large volumes are grown and that the quality is good. Small growers can focus on niche products, for instance the kiwi berry."
What the future will look like? "I expect 15 large players who supply to retail all year round to remain," predicts Cindy. "These are partially integrated players. It's important for the growers that large volumes are grown and that the quality is good. Small growers can focus on niche products, for instance the kiwi berry."
