Blueberry prices are high - trend halted

Last week, we observed a clear upward trend in wholesale prices of highbush blueberries (American) in the fresh market. The dynamics of this increase amounted to +25 percent in less than a week. This is a significant change for such a short period of time. It is worth noting that it was an increase during an "almost" week, as the trend did not last until the end. It was halted, and a corrective decline of around 3 percent occurred compared to the highest price on Thursday. As a result, the prices of highbush blueberries in the large Polish wholesale market (fresh market) ranged between 12.00-20.00 PLN/kg, which is approximately 2.79-4.65 EUR/kg, depending on packaging, quality, size, and variety (earlier varieties are noticeably cheaper).

However, as seen in our chart, the described correction did not fundamentally change the price situation in the blueberry market. The average price remains higher than in the same period of the previous five seasons. It is significantly higher—relative to the average of those five prices, it is +29 percent. The question is whether it will remain at a record level and maintain an advantage over previous years. For this to happen, the upward trend would need to quickly return to the blueberry market. The chart shows that in the 2022 season, after August 13, we saw a price increase. A similar scenario was seen in 2023, but the start of the upward trend then occurred at a much lower price level.

So, will we see a return to the upward price trajectory for blueberries now? It is possible, especially since we are also noting an increase (albeit limited for now) in the purchase of blueberries for processing. The price range has shifted from 7.00-8.00 PLN/kg to 7.00-8.50 PLN/kg, which is about 1.63-1.98 EUR/kg. This is a +3 percent change. Not much, but it is already the second change in about a week.