British Columbia is continuing to ship an average-sized crop of blueberries this season. "It's about 170 million lbs. Everyone seems to be back at the numbers they were a couple of years ago which is good," says Rhonda Driediger of Langley, B.C.-based Blueridge Produce, adding that the supply of fresh fruit has been steady.
Demand for B.C. blueberries has also been good, thanks partly to retail support through to the end of the season. "The quality has also been good and now is the peak time for us. The last of the Duke variety and the start of Blue Crop are coming in for processing and we are starting Draper, Liberty, and Calypso for fresh. We're harvesting almost every variety right now," says Driediger. That's leaving a good mix of fresh and frozen volume.
Anticipating 10-12 week season
The season started as per usual–most of the industry started at the end of June but Blueridge Produce began to harvest a few days after that. It's expected that the last fields will be picked in early September. That said, the packers storing some of the Calypso variety will extend their season. "We've had some shortened seasons in the last couple of years due to high heat or rain so as long as the weather cooperates, this will be a nice 10-12 week season for us," says Driediger.
As for pricing, last year's shorter crop helped contribute to a spike in pricing in the latter part of the B.C. blueberry season. This year another spike is anticipated though not as high given there will be more volume going into the fall.
For more information:
Rhonda Driediger
Blueridge Produce
Tel: +1 (604) 888-1685
[email protected]
www.blueridgeproduce.com