Last week, the ninth International Blueberry Seminar was held in Punta Umbria, Huelva. It was the first edition in Spain and Europe of a cycle of professional seminars that has already been held in Chile, Peru, Mexico and Argentina. The expectations for this seminar were very high and ambitious, but they were overwhelmed by the great interest of the European agricultural and blueberry sector.
Huelva was the province chosen, not just because its international sales account for more than 95% of Andalusia's berry exports, but also because of its efforts in the fields of research, innovation, production and marketing, which have turned the Andalusian province into the largest European producer of berries, with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries shipped to destinations all over the world, but mainly to European countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom, France or Italy.
Almost 450 people, 20% of them of international origin, attended the eight technical and commercial seminars presented by international experts, who outlined the essentials behind the preparation of the land before the planting, the nutritional management and follow-up of the crop, and the post-harvest, in order to obtain quality fruit that is attractive to the markets and the consumer. The event also served to address the global situation of the blueberry market, highlighting how more and more consumers around the world are demanding high quality, tasty blueberries, attracted by the great health benefits attributed to this fruit.
AGQ Labs and Blueberries Consulting, as organizers of the event, thanked all attendees and the more than 20 corporate sponsors for their commitment to strengthening and modernising this sector, as well as Freshuelva and Extenda (Andalusian Agency for Foreign Promotion) for their institutional support, which has helped blueberries and other Andalusian products to become flagship products in the global agro-food market. Freshuelva, in fact, is an example of regional association and international collaboration between producers to boost the technical knowledge and the profitability of these crops.
After the great success of this first edition in Spain, the celebration of a bigger, wider event that can again welcome the entire European and global blueberry sector is already being considered.