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California and northwest United States producers of organic blueberries will soon be harvesting their crops, which will give a boost to supply and usher in an opportunity for retail promotions.
Chad Hansen, category director for blueberries for Homegrown Organic Farms, Porterville, CA, said, “California had a little bit of a strange season this year because of the weather. We have past our peak production but we will still be shipping from here through late June. Once we shift to Oregon later this month, we will have very good supplies.”
Chad Hansen, category director for blueberries for Homegrown Organic Farms
He said production of organic blueberries was lower than expected, which made it difficult for some shippers to meet their pre-harvest commitments. “There was a lot of adjustments and education taking place,” Hansen said.
The organic blueberry market has reacted to lower supplies with higher prices but Hansen expects that to change in late June and throughout the entire month of July. “Oregon seems to be having a more traditional year than we have had. They typically start in mid to late June and peak in July,” he said.
Brian Bocock, vice president of product management of Naturipe Farms, Salinas, CA, echoed Hansen’s assessment. California will have organic blueberries through the month of June, before the shift to the Pacific Northwest begins. “Between the months of June and July, organic blueberries are sourced from Georgia, California, Oregon and Washington,” he said. “Naturipe expects steady supplies with great quality.”
Brian Bocock, vice president of product management of Naturipe Farms
Once organic blueberry production in Pacific Northwest begins, volume will pick up. “Right now we are heading into peak promotional time frames for organic blueberries and one can expect the market price to be attractive for promotional opportunities,” Bocock said.
Overall demand for organic blueberries is on the rise Bocock said, which is why Natureripe continues to invest in organic certified acreage. To cater to the needs of the organic consumer, Naturipe has two sustainable organic blueberry package offerings.
“We have our Earth Cycle pulp fiber pint that is completely compostable, virtually eliminates plastic and resonates well with organic shoppers,” he said. “We also have a peal-reseal one pound organic blue pack that uses 35 percent less plastic than a traditional clamshell.”
Homegrown Organic’s Hansen noted that demand for organic blueberries continue to outdistance supplies. Two years in a row, he said East Coast producers have struggled to produce good volumes of organic blueberries because of weather situations. He added that some conventional blueberry strongholds, such as New Jersey and Michigan, do not have comparatively large organic acreage. “California is doing a good job keeping up with demand and so is the Northwest,” he said. “Florida and North Carolina also have some organic blueberries.”
Hansen is bullish about continued increase in acreage in the West as he said growers have figured out how to grow organic blueberries and produce yields very similar to conventional production. Considering the premium that organic fruit tends to command, he expects more growers to transition to that type of production.
In the berry category, Homegrown only sells blueberries, which Hansen said offers advantages, as the product fits well with the company’s assortment of other fruit crops when selling retailers.
Naturipe does offer other organic berries and Bocock said there is good news on multiple fronts. “Our organic strawberry crop out of California will be the second largest in our history this year. The peak promotion period will run through early July, with late summer and early fall organic strawberry promotion opportunities available,” he said.
With regard to blackberries, he said “our domestic organic blackberry season this year is going to see a significant bump over last year in Georgia and California. The Georgia peak on organic blackberries will run through mid-June, while the California peak on organic blackberries is expected to run August through September.
