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South American bumper crop of blueberries expected to drive prices down
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Thursday 16 April 2009
Michigan grows a third of all U.S. blueberries, but an increase in global production and South American imports are threatening to drive prices down sharply for this year’s crop.
About 150 million tons of blueberries are now in storage nationwide, said Carlos Garcia Salazar, a small fruit specialist for Michigan State Extension Service’s Ottawa County office. That’s about double the normal amount for this time of year.
Fresh blueberry prices were above US$2 per pound in 2007 and 2008, but this year they will be closer to US$1.30 a pound. A pound of processed blueberries could drop from US$1.63 to below US$1. “We had bonanza for three or four years,” Salazar said. “But that’s over. “We believe that given our holdings and storage some are estimating prices similar to five or six years ago.”
Improved technology also has contributed to the glut, allowing blueberry farmers to nearly double production, from about 3,000 pounds per acre to nearly 6,000 pounds per acre. Michigan produces nearly one-third of all U.S. blueberries. But South American farmers nearly matched the state’s production, exporting 88 million pounds.
“It’s a wait-and-see game right now to see what happens to this year’s crops in other states,” said Ken Reenders, co-owner of 750 acres of blueberries. “We’re trying to be more conservative on expenses because we know the price is not going to be the same as last year.”
Ottawa County accounts for the second-highest blueberry production in the state behind Van Buren County.
