Raspberries and blueberries hold the number two and three top-selling berry slots respectively and are often pitted against each other in the battle for berry domination.
Although raspberry sales are being affected by increased demand for other berries, the fruit still accounts for 30 per cent market share, with one source claiming that penetration is as high as 35 per cent. Raspberries were once seen as a late summer crop but earlier varieties, coupled with innovative growing methods, have extended the season from June through to October.
In recent years, much attention has been focused on blueberries and their superfood status, and the berry now enjoys 26 per cent sales penetration. UK production is small but growing and British blueberries are available from June until August.
Retailers are keen to stock UK-grown blueberries on their shelves and some insiders argue that UK production has been retailer-led, rather than grower-led.
One source says that retailers are paying good premiums for UK product but, as production increases rapidly in the next two to three years, the premium paid out to growers will dwindle. “Whether UK growers will make money out of blueberries in the long term is questionable,” he says.
According to Steven Taylor, managing director of Winterwood Farms, this will be the first season where significant volumes of UK blueberries are available and it will be a good indication of how much the consumer is prepared to pay for home-grown fruit.
Most UK growers tend to produce blueberries after the Spanish season ends and producers are concentrating on the Duke variety, Taylor says.
Although Winterwood Farms has blueberry interests in Kent and Scotland, Taylor says the UK is one of the largest blueberry consumers in the world and domestic supply will not be able to fulfil total demand.
He also argues that it will be impossible for UK growers to compete against Poland on price. “Poland can produce blueberries 40 per cent cheaper than the UK and the cost of trucking blueberries to the UK from Poland is also very competitive. Sure, there will be some consumers that buy blues because they are locally produced, but I don’t envisage that niche translating into thousands of tonnes.”
John Gray, managing director of Angus Soft Fruits (ASF), agrees that picking costs for blueberries are very high and therefore UK production is at a potential disadvantage from a cost perspective against imports.
Nevertheless, he is optimistic about the blueberry situation and is confident there are good prospects for the product. “UK production will steadily increase over the next three years,” Gray predicts.
While insiders predict strong overall opportunities, Taylor makes the point that UK consumers are unlikely to have the same allegiance to domestic blueberries that they do to UK strawberries. “Some consumers do not even know that blueberries can be grown here and there is no guarantee that home-grown blueberries will taste better than Polish ones,” he says.
One source also questioned the environmental impact of growing blueberries in the UK. “Is it better to grow blueberries in polytunnels in the UK or in other countries where blueberries are grown without the use of polytunnels?” he asks.
In terms of raspberries, Gray says the UK raspberry sector is already very competitive compared to imports. However, there are some difficult decisions ahead for producers. “We currently have a scenario whereby the returns to growers for the peak season in July are economically unsustainable,” he tells FPJ.
“Growers and marketing companies need to take a serious look at their strategy and consider fine tuning their production profile to take pressure off the July period, otherwise in five years we may find that there are significantly fewer raspberries available in July, as growers will not continue replanting.”
Taylor says that the market for raspberries is “fairly mature”, although there are opportunities during late autumn when there is a shortage of UK product.
“However, although work is being done to specifically breed raspberries in September and October, there aren’t any fantastic varieties as yet,” Taylor says.
He anticipates that it is only a matter of time before blueberries become more popular than raspberries. “Blueberries already outsell raspberries during certain times of the year and I predict these periods will increase over time,” he tells FPJ. “We could see blueberry pack sizes rising and consumers taking home more in the future.”
However, although Taylor envisages blueberries overtaking raspberries and the gap closing between strawberries and blueberries, he believes strawberries will remain the leading berry, certainly over the next decade.
Promoting berries is a priority and this year’s Seasonal Berries campaign will focus on delivering key messages to highlight the value and better taste of British berries in season.
The PR initiative, run by Sputnik, will focus on home-grown produce and value-for-money buys, and detailed information about berry varieties and growing seasons will be made available to consumers.
The overall themes of thrift and reducing wastage will be echoed throughout the campaign’s events and activities, and a number of consumer berry tastings are planned.
Leading producers say that the recession hasn’t had a major effect on berry sales to date. “Soft-fruit purchases in the UK summer are primarily driven by weather - i.e. if the sun shines then we sell well, if it rains it is difficult,” says Gray.
Given that the UK has already seen scorching temperatures, with more on the horizon, it seems that growth can be cautiously predicted.
Retailers sell the vast majority of berries, but pick-your-own farms (PYO) are also important outlets. Tom Maynard, grower at Sussex-based family farm Maynards, says the recent good weather has brought berry pickers out in force. The raspberry varieties Glen Ample, Tulameen, Leo and the Canadian-bred raspberry Cowachan can all be picked at the farm and raspberries have become the most popular PYO fruit at Maynards.
“We are having a good time at the moment although we are low on acreage this year, as some of our plantings from spring and the year before haven’t come on line yet and there is a decline in some of the older plantations,” Maynard tells FPJ.
PYO farms are enjoying renewed interest and although they are not as popular as they were in the 1970s compared to a decade ago, Maynard says they are seeing stronger demand.
PYO farms are also recovering from the poor summers of 2007 and 2008. “People don’t come out when it’s raining and as all of our fruit is grown outside and we don’t use polytunnels, the quality of fruit can suffer,” says Maynard. “However, this year, we are having a very good year for raspberries and I would say it’s more a case of sales being weather-related, rather than recession-related.”
When it comes to choosing certain berry varieties, Gray says that, as with any varietal development programme, ASF is always looking to select those which primarily deliver for the consumer in terms of taste and appearance but are also economical to grow from a grower perspective, with a combination of disease resistance and reliable yield.
Nikki Jennings, a fruit breeder at the Scottish Crop Research Institute’s (SCRI) commercial subsidiary Mylnefield Research Services (MRS), says flavour has been, and always will be, a priority when breeding raspberries, but the size of fruit and ease of pick has become increasingly important due to the increase in picking costs.
Improved shelf life is also important to reduce wastage, while raspberry root rot resistance is becoming increasingly valuable. “In order to achieve pesticide-free fruit, resistant varieties are now a very high priority,” she explains.
SCRI released the raspberry varieties Glen Doll in the spring of 2007 and Glen Fyne in 2008 and, although the nutritional benefits have not yet been used to distinguish one variety from another, Jennings says they are starting to be used to distinguish raspberries from other crops.
When it comes to newer varieties, although uptake of Glen Fyne and Glen Doll has been “rather slow”, MRS is confident that both of the releases have strong commercial potential. “Growers need to assess how the new varieties perform commercially before making a significant investment,” Jennings explains.
“It is our intention to continue breeding new and superior raspberry cultivars that meet the needs of both growers and consumers. We plan to achieve this by developing varieties that can withstand changing pest, disease and climate pressures and that have superior quality traits.”
The Scottish-based raspberry programme is also working on a number of other lines, some of which offer clear improvements over current commercial cultivars, including tolerance to Phytophthora root rot.
New research remains a key focus for the sector and active areas of research include developing molecular markers for key quality and pest and disease resistance traits in raspberries and blackcurrants, says Dr Jonathan Snape, commercial director at MRS.
He explains: “These new markers will be deployed in breeding programmes over the next few years and will lead to a significant improvement in the efficiency of these programmes and hopefully lead to superior new varieties for use by the industry.”
Other key areas of research include looking at adaptation to climate change, through factors such as winter chill requirements and water-use efficiency.
Snape says another market driver is the need to produce pesticide-free fruit for sale by multiple retailers and SCRI is active in developing integrated pest management strategies.
Although SCRI does not currently breed blueberries, its research work on the fruit will intensify as a HortLINK grant has been approved for further work starting later this year.The five-year project will look at the quality of blueberries for fresh and processing markets. “Since this is a HortLINK grant, there is significant industrial involvement, reflecting the growing interest in the blueberry as a crop for the UK,” Jennings explains.“The number of growers is increasing rapidly, including in Scotland, and there is some interest in machine harvesting blueberries for processing.”
As the long summer days continue, producers are hoping that consumers will continue tucking into home-grown berries and make this year one to remember.
No comments yet