The end of November brought a significant drop in prices for imported blueberries in Poland. The average price for them dropped from 33 PLN/kg ($7.55/kg) to 25 PLN/kg ($5.72/kg) – the price of imported blueberries on the Polish market decreased by an average of 24% in just a few days. On the one hand, this was due to the rapid increase in the supply of blueberries imported from Peru. It should be noted that blueberry production in Peru in the current season was assessed as quite high, and the export of Peruvian blueberries also increased. This was reported by the EastFruit Internet portal with a link to the fresh-market website.
However, the current situation in the Polish market of imported blueberries has changed dramatically. Only since the beginning of the week, selling prices have risen sharply – from 22-28 PLN/kg ($5.03-6.41/kg) to 28-46 PLN/kg ($6.41-10.53/kg), which is on average 48% more expensive than at the end of the last week.
According to key market players, there are several reasons for this. First, a sharp reduction in the supply of blueberries from Peru to European markets. Violent protests broke out in the country after its parliament announced the impeachment of President Pedro Castillo, who enjoys strong support among the rural population. The unrest started, with airports and other facilities being attacked, which paralyzed exports in the segment. Workers refused to harvest blueberries and production was stopped.
At the same time, it is worth noting that the blueberry harvest season in Peru was in its final phase. This means that the supply of blueberries from Peru on the market has started decreasing, replaced by blueberries from Chile. Spanish blueberries traditionally enter the market in January, although there is still too much time before the blueberry harvesting season starts in Spain. After blueberries from the Iberian Peninsula enter the market, Moroccan berries usually follow. Therefore, even if the Peruvian government does not quickly resolve the conflict, its destructive impact on the global blueberry market will decrease, and selling prices for blueberries will decrease starting from January.
28/12/2022
