Blueberries - this could signify a significant change in the situation.

In the highbush blueberry market in Poland, the price situation, seen from the producers' perspective, could significantly improve in the short term compared to previous seasons. This could happen even without an increase in the prices of Polish blueberries in large quantities. Stabilization at the current level would be sufficient.

Looking at our chart, we can see that in previous years, the average sales price in large quantities decreased significantly in the last decade of July. If the current heatwaves and storms, which undoubtedly have a negative impact on the current harvest, were to stop the previous trend of price decrease, we would see the mentioned improvement compared to prices from previous years.

Currently, the wholesale prices of these fruits mostly range from 10.00 to 17.00 PLN/kg (2.35-4.00 EUR/kg), depending on the packaging, caliber, quality, and region of the country. Since last week, there has been an average decrease of 7 percent, but earlier the price slightly strengthened. However, since the beginning of the regular season, this average has been below the prices of all previous five seasons. Therefore, such stabilization and relative improvement would be a significant change.

Is the stabilization of blueberry prices realistic, though? Usually, the end of July and the beginning of August are periods of peak supply, hence the aforementioned price drop in this phase of the campaign. However, let us remember that in the current season, the peak supply and the start of harvest occurred earlier. Additionally, imported blueberries are finally disappearing from the Polish market, which will reduce supply pressure. Meteorologists also forecast more hot days.

Therefore, this price stabilization has a certain probability. This hypothesis is also supported by recent developments in the processing sector. The demand for industrial blueberries is strengthening as strawberries and currants have ended, and cherries will soon be finished as well. Furthermore, the purchase prices for freezing blueberries have strengthened from the range of 6.50-7.00 PLN/kg (1.53-1.65 EUR/kg) to 7.00-8.00 PLN/kg (1.65-1.88 EUR/kg).