According to EastFruit analysts, on the sidelines of the Global Berry Congress held in the Netherlands on November 28, 2023, the prospects for blueberry pricing were actively discussed, given the unprecedentedly high level of prices in the current season. Let us recall that the main reason for high prices for blueberries was a sharp decline in the production and exports of blueberries from Peru due to unfavorable weather conditions during the flowering of the berry.
According to the majority of congress participants, prices for blueberries will most likely stay high at least until the end of the current season. Moreover, many believe that during the next season it will not be possible to return prices to the level of the 2022/23 season, although in the longer term price trends may return to usual.
Currently, despite the fact that blueberry export volumes from Peru have begun to recover, prices for the berry are not declining because demand remains high. Since blueberry prices are high when they were usually the lowest makes traders believe that they will stay high through the rest of the season. When the first suppliers of fresh blueberries from the Northern Hemisphere, such as Morocco and Spain begin, price realities will be different than in 2023. Thus, growers in Poland, Ukraine and Georgia are also hoping to get good prices for their berries in 2024.
Interestingly, some producers expect that Peru’s blueberry harvest could be relatively weak even in 2024, given long-term trends in average temperatures and the stress experienced by plantations in 2023. If this happens, then there are prospects for maintaining high prices for blueberries for more than a year.
However, Andriy Yarmak, an economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), believes that it is necessary to pay attention not only to supply, but also to the demand for blueberries. “In my opinion, high prices for blueberries, if they remain at a high level for a long time, in conditions of economic stagnation in many developed countries, can negatively impact the volume of blueberry consumption. And this, in turn, may have a negative impact on prices, compensating the positive news from the supply side,” notes Andriy Yarmak.
For more information: east-fruit.com