As Blueberry Demand Increases Local Growers Answer The Call

Blueberry harvest is underway across the Northwest, and growers are expecting a sharp increase in production numbers. Alan Schreiber, Executive Director of the Washington Blueberry Commission said the trend has been developing for some time.

“It’s both official and unofficial, the ‘Blue Wave’ or the ‘Blue Crush.’ I think, I don’t know, since 2006 in Washington, every year but two, we’ve had ever-increasing levels of production and overall, across the United States we’re seeing a ramp up in the volume of blueberries harvested.”

Schreiber noted that, in his assessment, it’s a remarkable story that consumption of blueberries has kept up with production. He noted the per-capita increase in blueberry consumption in the last 10-years has virtually doubled.

“I can tell you two things, in general, what has happened is fresh consumption of blueberries has increased remarkably and we’re seeing blueberries in products like we’ve never seen before. You know, blueberry ice cream, blueberry yogurt, a lot of blueberry dairy-type things and we’re seeing them in places like pet food, for example.”

Schreiber added during the coronavirus pandemic, demand has increased, specifically for frozen product as consumers stock up on blueberries for the long haul.

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