Wholesale prices of blueberries are still at record highs.
The main phase of the season for domestic highbush blueberries has clearly passed the halfway point. Especially considering that this year's season started earlier and it is likely to end earlier as well. Particularly because the weather is not favoring fruit producers this year, and blueberries are no exception.
The upward trend in prices for dessert blueberries, in the long term perspective, has been visible since the third decade of July in the current season. However, it should be noted that this trend is often disrupted by short-term price fluctuations. These fluctuations naturally result from changes in the current supply-demand relationship. But these temporary fluctuations in the prices of dessert blueberries in the Polish wholesale market were not significant enough for most of August, to cause the average selling price in large quantities to stop being exceptionally high compared to the previous five seasons. Specifically, only once in August did the current price cease to be the highest on Friday, August 16, which was evidently related to the long weekend.
As seen in the chart, the current average price is once again the highest. Currently, the wholesale selling prices for dessert blueberries are mostly between 15.00 PLN/kg (3.50 EUR/kg) and 21.00 PLN/kg (4.90 EUR/kg). Heavy rains and storms that passed over Poland in many regions will certainly affect supply and prices, but the seasonal factor will also play a role here—blueberry supply will decrease over a long period of time.
The question is, will the described price relationship be maintained compared to previous seasons? In other words, will wholesale blueberry prices remain exceptionally high? The chart shows that it won't be easy, as just last year, the end of August and September brought a significant increase in prices in this segment of the fruit market. The end of August and September were also expensive in the blueberry market in 2020. By the end of August, this situation should become clearer, but the chances of maintaining a price advantage are high, especially given the still far from optimal weather conditions.