Poland: blueberry area doubled in five years
High sales prices and a lot of demand for blueberries are giving producers of this fruit excellent…High sales prices and a lot of demand for blueberries are giving producers of this fruit excellent prospects for the future. According to the figures of the Polish Institute for Agricultural Economics the total area of blueberries in Poland has doubled in the last five years. Now these fruits are grown on a area of over 7,000 hectares. In 2002 this was only 1,000 hectares.
With 23 percent of the European harvest, Poland is the largest producer of blueberries and the third globally (after the US and Canada). The production in Poland is around 13,000 tonnes annually. According to estimates 80 to 90 percent of this production was exported abroad. Supported by its healthy image, Polish blueberries can be found in an increasing number of countries: in Western Europe (mainly in Great Britain) but also Malaysia, Singapore and Japan, where diversification of the markets is an important contribution to the success. Due to the growing demand and despite the high investment costs in the production, the cultivation is still profitable. This is expected to lead to further growth of production areas.