Production of organic blueberries in Poland has grown to the extent that supplies are now exceeding market requirement.
“Organic supplies are continuing to increase and there are now big volumes coming out of Poland,” said Steve Taylor of Winterwood Farms. “The situation is probably getting to the point where production is outstripping demand. Demand is increasing, but supplies this year seem to be increasing at a greater rate.”
Taylor believes that, although there is some fear that inflation and rising fuel costs will cause consumers to cut back on spending on fruit, the opposite is happening. “Our experience so far is that people are going out less but they are upgrading what they eat at home, choosing organics and premium lines of blueberries, for example,” said Taylor.
The Polish season is just beginning and will overlap slightly over the next month with French supplies. The majority of French production comes from the Loire Valley and further south. “We are about 60-70 per cent of the way through the French season now,” explained Taylor. “France has an excellent climate for growing blueberries, but the labour availability situation can make it difficult for growers. They are increasing blueberry production but not at the same rate as demand is increasing.”
As well as producing greater volumes of organic fruit in Poland, growers are managing to get their crop to market earlier year on year through the use of tunnels. And by planting better varieties and employing different growing techniques, they can extend availability of fruit into October.
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