Polish Berry Cooperative (PBC) is handling an exceptionally competitive 2017 Asian blueberry market by asserting its product branding and differentiation, reveals the group’s Dominika Kozarzewska.
PBC this season launched a new premium line (+18mm) in Asia under its ‘Berry Good’ brand, and unveiled a new ‘BerryGood from Poland’ Facebook fanpage for international consumers.
As a result, the group expects to export greater blueberries volumes to Asia this year compared to last, in spite of tougher trading conditions.
“Competition in Asia from other suppliers – Canada, US and Peru – is exceptionally tough this season,” says Kozarzewska. “We are dealing with this with branding and differentiation.”
Stiff competition is not the only challenge Polish blueberry suppliers are facing this year: spring frosts and summer rains have hampered volumes, harvesting and quality.
“The Polish season generally starts in early July, but due to weather conditions, farmers in northern Poland did not start picking until the end of July. Therefore we have not yet had a clear production peak this year,” Kozarzewska explains.
“Some regions in Poland have been experiencing heavy rainfalls throughout summer, and once again the geographical diversification we have at Polish Berry Cooperative has paid off. So weather is far from ideal, but we are doing our best to provide top quality fruit, also with the help of tunnels and rain sheds in which we have been heavily investing over the years.”
PBC airfreights its blueberries to Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore, but expects to send some by sea this season.
Polish blueberries are well received in Asia due to their sweet taste, excellent size and high production standards, says Kozarzewska.
“We believe our shipments to Japan in 2013 were the first ones from Poland. Now we export our blueberries to five Asian countries and are looking to enter new markets,” she says. “Volumes have increased considerably, for example in Singapore we have seen 200 per cent growth year-on-year.”
PBC perceives the Vietnamese and Chinese markets as “very promising'.
'We are now working on opening them for Polish blueberries,” Kozarzewska reveals.
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