More and more Swiss growers are cultivating blueberries. Due cheap foreign competition the Swiss association asks fruit growers now however to be cautious, says the Swiss website Swisscofel.ch.
Ten years ago the blueberry acreage in Switzerland was approximately 22 hectares. Meanwhile, this has already grown to over 65 acres, this is according to Georg Bregy from the Swiss Fruit Association. The amount of harvested berries increased in accordance with it. In 2003 they picked around 80 tons blueberries in Switzerland, and in 2011 there were more than 340 tons. "We assume that production in Switzerland will increase slightly, and then in the next few years will stabilize," said Bregy.
But large distributors can import as many foreign blueberries as they want. Since the blueberries also grow in other countries, the pressure on the Swiss producers increase. "We encourage growers to be careful and be cautious in terms of cultivation surface area," said Bregy. The association also encourages growers to make agreements with customers. A selling point is - as with other products - the good quality.
