"Spain: "Selling blueberries will become increasingly difficult"

The strawberry season is almost finished in Huelva, where blueberries and raspberries continue to be harvested and marketed, although at a slower pace, as the production peak was reached almost two months ago.

"The marketing of blueberries has been very difficult this year, with prices under pressure and large volumes available during the entire campaign, which was to be expected, considering the growth of the acreage devoted to this crop and the entry into production of numerous young plantations. This situation will not only be the same in the next campaign, but things will actually become even more complicated," explains Simone Pierini, of the sales team of Ideal Fruits.

The fact is that the speed at which the production increases every year is greater than the growth of consumption. "Although it is sure to increase in the future, blueberry consumption has lagged far behind the pace of acreage and production growth in Huelva, Morocco and Portugal," he points out. "When it comes to raspberries, we also notice the pressure of a plentiful supply; it is not at the level of blueberries, but it is also making sales more difficult."

"At this time of the campaign, the available production of blueberries and raspberries is still notable in Huelva, although it is already in a downward trend. Now the productions of Portugal and the north of Spain are entering the market, and of course, there is a great availability of fruit from the countries of central and northern Europe," continues Simone. "For this reason, most of the sales will be in the domestic market. Within a month, we will also start the blackberry campaign."

Ideal Fruits sells its berries mainly in the Spanish market. "In southern Europe, there is not a tradition in the consumption of berries comparable to that of the countries of central and northern Europe, but little by little, more supermarket chains are willing to have them on their shelves," affirms Simone Pierini.