Quebec wild blueberry producers expect bumper crop
Quebec wild blueberry producers expect bumper crop
Wild blueberry producers in Quebec are looking forward to an excellent crop this year, which will help meet some of the growing worldwide demand for Canadian wild blueberries. Last year, the yield was down due to frost damage, but growers this year are projecting a crop of 60 million pounds plus if the weather holds.
According to Neri Vautour, executive director of the Wild Blueberry Association of North America-Canada, “The demand for the fruit has been such that the last two or three years we’ve not had enough fruit to be really aggressive in the marketplace. It’s nice to have a bigger crop this year, but I can tell you that it’s not going to slow down the demand because it’s definitely there.”
Wild blueberry growers face challenges in expanding the yield, as growers manage fields in much the same way Mother Nature does. Producers are working hard to increase yield per acre through methods such as bringing in more bees for pollination, as well as opening up new land.
Quebec, Atlantic Canada and the state of Maine are the centres of wild blueberry production. Canada produces 65 percent of the world’s market, exporting to over 30 countries. Demand for the product increases every year.
“It has to do with the health factor and also that it’s a great-tasting product,” said Vautour. “We can export to new markets like China and Korea.” Eighty percent of the crop goes to export.
The sector is noted for its cooperative attitude, both among Canadian growers and processors and with WBANA’s U.S. counterpart. The associations work closely on international marketing.
“It’s been good for our industry to identify that every time you can move a pound of fruit in a new market, it’s good for the whole industry, not just one grower or processor,” Vautour noted.
WBANA also works with both the provincial and federal levels of government, raising money from voluntary member payments in order to get matching federal funds when available to promote new markets around the world.
The association’s members are provincial producer associations and processors from Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland.
