Polish blueberry wonder
The Polish market has ca 40 million people. In 2022, blueberry consumption per capita reached 1.83 kg/person. Thus, the consumption of blueberries in Poland is on the similar level as the consumption of this fruit in the United States. At the same time, domestic production is growing dynamically. Poland is the largest producer of dessert blueberry in Europe and the development of the blueberry market in Poland is one of the best examples of the last decade worldwide.
With exports only 6.7% higher than imports, all trends indicate that Poland is on track to become both a net importer of blueberries and a significant producer. It distinguishes Poland on the world stage as one of the most successful stories of developing the blueberry consumption market.
In order to achieve the goals with low budgets and a 3-month season - from July to September, Polish blueberry growers joined forces with growers of other berries: They created a joint campaign in which each blueberry season "passes the baton" to the next. The market is made up of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries, Polish mini kiwi and red currant in dessert form. And also blackcurrant, haskap and chokeberry, of which Poles are the largest producers in the world.
Experience so far has shown that the best way to maintain profitability is to increase demand at a rate faster than we are able to increase production. Together with efforts to improve the quality of products, the general promotion of blueberries around the world serves this purpose. Imported fruits after the end of the season support, in such a structure, building permanent consumption habits.
2022 production figures
Poland is the 6th producer of dessert blueberries in the world and the largest in Europe. Over the last 3 years - from 2019 - the increase in production amounted to over 60%. Only the last year, production has increased by 25%. This is the highest percentage increase in production in the world. Only Morocco – 22%, Peru – 17%, South Africa – 17% and China – 16% are developing similarly fast.
In 2021, blueberry plantations in Poland grew to 11,000 hectares and in 2022 it was almost 12,000 hectares. A year ago, 65,000 were collected from this area. tons of fruit. Plantations producing blueberries are usually small - those with an area of less than 5 ha account for over 60%, those larger than 5-10 ha - 21%, 10-50 ha - 13% and the largest - with an area of over 50 ha - 3% of plantations. In 2022, 440 blueberry farms were certified in the GlobalGAP system. Poland exports over 1/3 of total production - in 2021 it was over 21,000. tons of blueberry fruit.
Source: PodOslonami