"Demand for blueberries bounces back"

The blueberry harvest is exceptionally good this year. That's what Leon Schrijnwerkers says, who gro…

The blueberry harvest is exceptionally good this year. That's what Leon Schrijnwerkers says, who grows blueberries in Grubbenvorst (the Netherlands) and Weeze (Germany), 200 metres across the Dutch border. "100 mm rain fell here, resulting in a cracked berry here and there, but generally we have good quality, fortunately."

In Grubbenvorst, the company now has around 30 hectares of blueberries, and a container field for growing plants to be sold. The largest area of these plantations consists of the Duke, Draper, Liberty, and Aurora varieties. In Germany, Schrijnwerkers has been growing blueberries together with Harm Valckx for over ten years, on a total acreage of 52 hectares, 40 hectares of which is in full production. "Germany isn't so far from here, but it does have advantages, like the cheaper seasonal labour. It's also easier to sell German produce to Germans," Leon says.

For the same reason, he doesn't rule out cultivation in the United Kingdom either. Germany, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia are the main markets for blueberries. "At the start of the season, prices were very good, and traditionally a dip follows in the middle of the season. Now prices are bouncing back again," Leon says. The grower anticipated by growing many early and late varieties. "We still have quite a few late berries hanging around. The price for high quality blueberries is currently around 5 Euro per kilo."

For over 50 years, Schrijnwerkers' company was a member of the nearby Veiling ZON. This year, that partnership came to a close, and together with Harm Valckx and Special Fruit, he founded the new sorting and packing company Berry Packing Services. He looks to the future with optimism. "We've had decades of experience in blueberries, but in recent years, demand has increased enormously. We really have an on demand market."