Freshuelva, the Association of Producers and Exporters of Strawberry of Huelva, has warned that the high prices being charged by supermarkets for domestically grown blueberries is keeping consumers away and threatens to bring an early end to the season.
According to analysis carried out by the association’s Blueberry Committee as the Spanish campaign approaches its peak production weeks, there is also a significant gap between market prices and those paid to the grower, which it says “barely cover the cost of production”.
Freshuelva warns that this could prompt many producers to stop harvesting their blueberries as early as mid-May rather than June, when the season normally ends.
It is calling for retailers to introduce more attractive pricing in order to make the fruit more affordable and stimulate future consumption growth.
“We are talking about one of the fruits with the greatest number of health attributes, whose high level of antioxidants can help fight premature aging by neutralising free radicals, fights inflammation, is good for the heart, sight, memory and can aid weight loss,” Freshuelva said.
The association has been trying for several years to raise national consumption through marketing campaigns highlight the berrys health qualities, but demand in Spain still lags far behind other European countries.
Spain is also attempting to open new export markets for its blueberries and Freshuelva is currently awaiting the response of the Ministry of Agriculture to its request to initiate negotiations with the Chinese authorities in orde to gain access to that market.
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