Retailers will be pleased to learn that fresh blueberry supplies from the Pacific Northwest are expected to be of strong volume and high quality. Comments from two of the region’s growers summarize these expectations for a successful season.

“Blueberries continue to be highly sought after,” said Suzanne Wolter, director of marketing for Rainier Fruit Co. in Yakima, WA. “[In early June] I spent about three hours in the produce department of a retailer’s grand opening. The berries were flying off the shelf; not just the blueberries either — strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. It was interesting to watch how many customers put them in their basket and fun trying to keep the display looking good and replenished.”

“Blueberries continue to grow in popularity year round,” Matt Curry, president of Curry & Co. in Brooks, OR, told The Produce News. “Their well-known health benefits, combined with the fact that consumers expect to see them with every visit to their favorite produce department, has made them an extremely important item to produce departments. And, although they are essentially available year round, they still create seasonal excitement for consumers because they know it is blueberry season domestically.”

Oregon and Washington consistently rank among the nation’s top blueberry-producing states.

According to the Washington Blueberry Commission, the Evergreen State is anticipated to produce approximately 90 million pounds of blueberries this season — an increase of 10 million pounds when compared to 2013 production. Washington is a national trendsetter when it comes to organic blueberry production, with 75 percent of its overall volume falling into the category.

“Oregon growers are expected to harvest more than 80 million pounds of blueberries this year, another production record,” the Oregon Blueberry Commission said on its website. “A bumper crop of fresh blueberries is good news for customers who have increasingly become aware of the advantages of buying local and buying fresh.”

According to the commission, the designation of blueberries as a superfruit has driven production and sales in recent years.

“Oregon growers routinely realize the highest crop yields per acre compared to any other state, an estimated 10,000 pounds per acre,” the website noted. “While Oregon blueberries may have advantages when it comes to taste and quality, it’s the international interest in nutrition and healthy eating that have fueled the growth.”

The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center provided some insights about national industry production for the 2012 crop year.

“The United States is the world’s largest producer of blueberries, harvesting a total of 564.4 million pounds of cultivated and wild blueberries in 2012,” according to the center. Of this total volume, approximately 84 percent of the harvest fell into the cultivated category.

“Blueberries rank as the second most important commercial berry crop in the United States, with a total crop value of $781.8 million in 2012,” the center added.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture provided some additional preliminary data for 2012 blueberry production in Washington and Oregon during 2012 in the publication, Fruit & Tree Nuts Outlook. The report was updated by the Economic Research Service on May 20, 2014.

According to the report, Washington growers harvested 8,000 acres at a yield of 8,750 pounds per acre in 2012. Utilized production was 70 million pounds, with 35 million pounds moved to the fresh market. The overall value of utilized production set at approximately $84.5 million.

Oregon producers harvested 7,900 acres with a yield of 9,110 pounds per acre the same year. Utilized production was 72 million pounds, with 37.5 million pounds moved to the fresh market. The overall value of utilized production set at approximately $107.5 million.