Key production, regulatory, and market issues were discussed during the annual meeting of the Polish Blueberry Growers Association, with a strong focus on fruit quality, varietal strategy, and Poland's position in the international blueberry market.
According to breeder Paweł Korfanty, market standards have changed significantly over the past 15–20 years. Consumers prioritise quality, while price plays a less decisive role. Growers producing high-quality fruit report no marketing difficulties, whereas fruit quality remains the main structural weakness of the sector.
A large share of production is still based on older cultivars such as Bluecrop, Spartan, Chandler, Nelson, Toro, and Elliott. Newer-generation varieties, including Draper, Calypso, and Liberty, are considered more competitive. Besides firmness, flavour is becoming an increasingly important selection criterion.
Climate instability has intensified since 2020, affecting yield stability and fruit quality. Even Bluecrop has shown declining productivity and quality in recent seasons. Spring frosts remain a major risk.
Later flowering is not seen as a sufficient solution. Greater emphasis is placed on genetic frost tolerance of flowers and fruit set, as well as the presence of secondary (dormant) buds enabling yield recovery. However, frost-damaged plants often produce berries of lower quality.
In May 2025, one grower in Podlasie recorded 21 nights below 0°C. Loreto Blue performed well under these conditions, while in Calypso, leaves were damaged, but flowers survived and produced a crop.
Korfanty noted that competitive pressure from neighbouring countries may be somewhat overstated. In Ukraine, blueberry plantings expanded dynamically in recent years, but the war has significantly limited labour availability, constraining further development.
In Serbia, the initial boom in Duke plantings was evident, but growers are currently facing cultivation challenges, and a large share of production is directed to the Russian market. A similar situation is observed in Georgia, where sales are also largely concentrated in Russia.
Korfanty introduced two new cultivars from his breeding programme: Erisa and Eluna. Both feature concentrated ripening and upright plant habit.
Erisa shows strong storage stability and a berry size of 18–22 mm. Eluna ripens 3–4 days earlier, produces slightly larger berries (22–24 mm), but has a shorter storage window. Both cultivars performed well after the winter of 2024/2025. Concentrated ripening improves harvest efficiency and lot uniformity.
In 2025, Poland's blueberry harvest reached nearly 65,000 tonnes, with production potential estimated at around 100,000 tonnes in favourable seasons. However, the country became a net importer of fresh blueberries for the first time: exports totalled 20,900 tonnes, while imports reached 26,300 tonnes.
Domestic consumption is highly seasonal. Approximately 40,000 tonnes were consumed during July–September, while imports are concentrated outside the domestic season, particularly in May and June. Main producing countries supplying the Polish market include Spain (approx. 6,600 tonnes), Chile (2,500), Peru (2,000), Morocco (1,300), and Serbia (1,100), with the Netherlands and Germany acting largely as transit hubs.
The sector faces a strategic choice: invest in next-generation genetics, quality, and climate resilience, or risk gradual loss of competitiveness.
Source: www.sadyogrody.pl / jagodnik.pl / www.sad24.pl
