Imports of highbush blueberries to Poland may be high again

2021-12-06 10:26

In recent years, there has been a clear upward trend in imports of fresh highbush blueberries to Poland in the autumn-winter season. And not only in the period after the New Year, when Spanish blueberries entered the market, i.e. imported to us from a relatively nearby country, but also in the autumn season, when the import offer included fruit imported from as far away as South America.

What is important, and what can be seen on the chart, this trend was not disturbed by the covid pandemic and the logistic crisis. What is more, last season's imports of blueberries were significantly higher than in previous years. The fruit gained popularity in the era of the pandemic as one of the superfood products. This can also be seen in the graph. In September it increased by only 8 per cent year-on-year, but in October 2020 it gained +147 per cent, in November +116 per cent, in December +235 per cent, in January 136 per cent and in February as much as +306 per cent!

Own compilation based on CSO data

In the current season, the data on blueberry imports are still scarce, because the CSO has published information from September. However, they are good enough for blueberry imports in this category to suggest that in 2021/2022 season blueberry imports will be record-breaking again. In September, a month that is not yet important for blueberry imports, 475 tons of blueberries arrived in our country, 56 percent more than a year earlier.

This season, some factors are favourable for blueberry imports as the pandemic is still ongoing and demand for the fruit should be high. On top of that, we have relatively high prices for the main winter fruits - bananas and citrus. And while apple prices are low at the wholesale level, this is not reflected at the retail level, which also favours blueberries.

Of course, there are also risks. A catering lockdown would undoubtedly hit demand for this fruit. The weak zloty, which makes imports more expensive, does not help either. However, it is worth noting that wholesale prices, although quite high, are currently lower than a year ago by about 10 per cent (now it is usually 28.00-40.00 PLN/kg). A significant factor here is also the increase in transport costs, which is particularly hitting imports from distant distant locations.

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