Blueberry grower Leon Schrijnwerkers is a happy man. "We haven't been affected much by the frost damage. The blueberries look good, have the numbers and we have the suzuki fruit fly under control. All in all it looks positive. There are still shortages on the market. I expect the price to be higher than last year."
Leon has a company in Grubbenvorst with around 30 hectares of blueberries and a contained field for the cultivation of plants for sales. He has also been growing blueberries on a area of over 50 hectares in the German Heeze with Harm Valckx. The cultivation is mostly intended for the English, German and Scandinavian market. "The cultivation also looks good in Germany. We now have the really good varieties such as Duke, Draper, Liberty and Aurora. That's very important. The older varieties do tend to give up sooner."
"There is some frost damage here and there in the European berry cultivation, but I don't think that's the cause of the good market. In recent years the blueberry harvest has expanded hugely and this could compensate for the drop out of frost by far, but blueberries have just become a lot more popular. The berry price is already at a good level, around 5 Euro, and I expect the late berries to produce a good price as well."
For more information:
Leon Schrijnwerkers
Horsterweg 86
5971 NG Grubbenvorst
Tel: +31(0)77-3 270 290
Fax: +31(0)77-3 270 291
info@schrijnwerkers.nl
www.schrijnwerkers.nl