With several different districts chipping in, organic blueberry supplies are on the rise, with promotable volume expected toward the end of April, according to a couple of California-based grower-shippers.

“California Giant Berry Farms is currently harvesting organic blueberries from Oxnard and California’s San Joaquin Valley as well as Mexico,” said Kyla Oberman, director of marketing for the Watsonville, California company. “Additional volumes are anticipated from Florida at the end of the month. These regions will produce until late-May/mid-June, at which point our Pacific Northwest season begins.” 

Kyla Oberman, Director of Marketing, California Giant Berry Farms

Oberman added that ample supplies of fresh organic blueberries will be available and promotable from late April through mid-to-late May. “Currently, volume is expected to be up approximately 15 percent from last year. This is pending any unforeseen weather events such as frost,” she said, adding that production from both coastal California and the San Joaquin Valley are earlier than the past two years, in which growers had to cope with delayed maturity that she characterized as being “historically late.”  

When promoting blueberries to consumers, Oberman urged retailers to follow the recommendations of the US Highbush Blueberry Council’s (USHBC) marketing efforts that align blueberries with exercise recovery. USHBC is an industrywide organization that promotes blueberries generically. California Giant’s representative noted that USHBC research is exploring how blueberry consumption may help to address a wide range of health needs, including exercise recovery. Oberman relayed that blueberries are abundant in anthocyanins (plant compounds that give blueberries their beautiful blue color) and are a good source of vitamin C, which means they have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties to support muscle recovery. 

Stephen Paul, who is deciduous category director at Homegrown Organic Farms (HGO) in Porterville, California, reported that organic blueberry production for their growers is currently focused in Southern California in the hilly environs of Moorpark in Ventura County. “We are right in the middle of harvest in that district,” he said on April 1, noting that the crop is running a bit late because of a series of rainstorms the first three months of the calendar year. “It is a very diverse coastal region, and we are still learning about the region and which varieties do best there and their timing.”

Stephen Paul, Deciduous Category Director, Homegrown Organic Farms

Paul noted that while HGO-affiliated growers have been growing organic blueberries for a half-dozen years in this area, this is the first year the company is marketing that fruit. “The fruit is being picked, brought to our shed, and pre-cooled the same day, and it is being packed and shipped the following day,” he said, adding that this makes for an excellent quality pack that is very fresh.

The longtime grower and HGO commodity representative revealed that organic blueberry production from Peru and Chile is quickly winding down and volume out of Mexico is lower than expected, which has led to a very strong domestic blueberry market. Paul expects organic blueberry production from the central San Joaquin Valley to start around April 15, which should lead to greater supplies and promotable volume by the third week of this month.

"Currently, volume is expected to be up approximately 15 percent from last year." - Kyla Oberman

Paul added that once the volume starts coming, Homegrown Organic Farms should have steady supplies of organic blueberries well into September. He explained that the harvest will move north to the northern end of the San Joaquin Valley in late spring, with California providing the majority of its supplies through June. Then the harvest will move up to Oregon for July, August and much of September.

Paul noted that supplies tend to be scant through October until South America kicks in again in November. “Currently we have a solid 10-month program of organic blueberries,” he said. “We are continuing to try to stretch that out to 12 months.”

The difficult supply periods are a couple of month-long gaps in February/March and again in October/November.