World production of blueberries has developed rapidly in recent years. New markets have opened up especially for blueberries, but raspberries and blackberries are also growing. However, uncontrolled growth also has downsides in the form of price pressure at the producer level.
Consumers are happy about this because they can buy berries all year round and often at low prices during promotions. But how will demand hold up in tough economic times in 2022? The berry market in Germany has defied the difficult economic situation and continued to grow in the first nine months of the year. While household purchases of fruit declined overall, berry purchases still increased slightly.
Purchase volumes of currants, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries have increased above average. The blueberries, in particular, have lost all seasonal character in recent years. They are available year-round, and promotions in the food retail trade are running at a rapid pace. Weeks with a high density of promotions or low promotional prices are also regularly weeks with high demand. German production covers only a small part of total demand.
MANY COUNTRIES GUARANTEE YEAR-ROUND IMPORTS
While Germany's strawberry imports are dominated by Spain, those of blueberries are distributed among many other countries. Although Spain again leads the way with a 28 percent share of the German market, three countries with comparable quantities follow at the top. Peru, Morocco and Poland each account for about 13 percent of total German imports of blueberries. The situation is similar for raspberries, although Morocco overtook Spain in 2019 and is now the most important origin. Imports of blackberries are still far behind those of blueberries and raspberries. However, a positive trend is emerging here as well.
The rapid development of the berries market has been made possible by the fact that cultivation has been greatly expanded in many countries in recent years. Some of these areas have not yet reached full yield, and a further increase in supply can be expected in the coming years. Analysis of developments in recent years helps to classify the current situation. This involves a great deal of research and the compilation of data and information.
Source: Fruchthandel
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