"Overseas blueberries have been gradually withdrawn from the market to give way to new harvests of Spanish blueberries, as the latter are considered to be fresher at the time of their arrival," he explains.
After two months with very stable prices, these have now started to fall coinciding with the significant growth of Huelva's production volumes. "We expect the market to gradually adjust with the entry of this production and we hope there won't be any sharp variations," states Juan Báñez.
"We start our blueberry campaign in late January with very limited volumes, and it is from April when the production significantly increases, reaching its peak in May. We work with free varieties like the Star, which is the most common and representative," affirms the manager of this cooperative.
"We start with small formats weighing 125 grams, which we continue selling throughout the campaign, and when we have larger volumes we offer a wider range of packaging options, including 200, 250, 300, 400 or 500 gram containers. To adapt to our times and sort the product in terms of quality, we have acquired new calibration machinery set for two different sizes. We aim for the quality to be as homogeneous as possible."
"Although we have grown in Huelva, as far as the blueberry production volume is concerned, it is still a relatively new crop for us, for which we have to adapt both at an agronomic and commercial level, and the product's presentation plays a very important role in this," points out Juan Báñez.
Uncertainty given a possible oversupply
There is some uncertainty in the sector about a possible oversupply of blueberries in the current and in future campaigns. The acreage in Huelva has increased and there are still large yields to come, so there are some doubts as to whether the market will be able to absorb such amounts.
In the words of Juan Báñez: "In the short and medium term, blueberries will likely go through some difficult moments when it comes to sales, since large retailers are not yet sufficiently developed to market all the productions that we have. However, as has been shown so far, this situation will force supermarkets to react and create more room for the product on their shelves, while adjusting their selling price. Looking at the long term, I believe that blueberry consumption still has a lot of growth potential in Europe, as compared to the United States, it is still 5 times lower. It has been proven that virtually all European consumers, both in the north and south of the continent, like the taste of blueberries."
One of the key strategies, according to Báñez, is to advertise the fruit's nutritional properties. "Blueberries are considered one of the four superfoods with the best nutritional qualities in the world, according to the Yale ranking, together with oranges, green beans and broccoli. "It's critical for berry consumers to know that in addition to being good-tasting fruits, they are natural health pills that have numerous properties, including helping prevent cardiovascular disease."
For more information:
Sergio Sainz (Export Manager)
Cuna de Platero
Camino de Montemayor, s/n. Moguer, Huelva. Spain
T: +34 959372125
M:+34 606828659
sergiosainz@cunadeplatero.com
www.cunadeplatero.com