From low chill to high chill, Sekoya sees potential to serve more of China’s domestic blueberry season
Fall Creek Farm & Nursery’s Sekoya platform has flagged plans to expand in China, supporting the country’s blueberry industry as it grows beyond low-chill production regions.
According to Sekoya, the industry’s growth has created a new opportunity to combine varieties suited to different climates and harvest windows, helping growers supply premium-quality blueberries across more of the year. It plans to showcase its offering at Asia Fruit Logistica in Hong Kong on 2-4 September.
Sekoya Pop – developed for zero- and low-chill environments – is already established in Yunnan, China’s principal low-chill blueberry production region. Now, Sekoya is looking at how mid- and high-chill genetics can complement that production as China’s blueberry industry develops in other regions and climates.
“China is not one blueberry-growing environment, and that is what makes the opportunity so interesting,” said Mark David, vice president and general manager for Sekoya.
“Sekoya Pop has already demonstrated what premium Sekoya fruit can deliver in low-chill production. The next step is to look at how varieties developed for mid- and high-chill conditions can complement that season and help growers deliver a more consistent supply of premium blueberries grown in China.”
Sekoya has a range of varieties that progress across different growing regions and seasonal windows. Sekoya Pop is its established zero- and low-chill variety, and its offering continues with mid- and high-chill production of Sekoya Crunch ‘FC13-083’, which is an early-season variety adapted to mid- and high-chill environments. Sekoya Fiesta ‘FC13-113’, developed as a high-chill variety, moves the window later.
Sekoya Nova, the latest high-chill variety released to the Sekoya platform, further complements the portfolio and its longer-term potential in China. Sekoya Nova combines very large fruit with strong firmness and storage performance, including the ability to maintain fruit quality through extended cold storage.
Together, the varieties illustrate how Sekoya is approaching the longer-term China opportunity: not around a single variety or production region, but around genetics that can serve different growing conditions and harvest periods while maintaining the fruit quality expected from the Sekoya platform.
For Chinese consumers, that consistency matters. Fall Creek’s 2026 Global Fresh Blueberry Consumer Study found that 74 per cent of surveyed consumers in four tier-one Chinese cities buy blueberries at least weekly, 76 per cent choose blueberries over other berries and 57 per cent prefer large or jumbo fruit. Nearly half, 48 per cent, said variety names influence their purchase decisions, while 21 per cent already recognised the Sekoya name.
“By bringing together zero-, low-, mid- and high-chill genetics, we can support customers across a much broader range of production environments and harvest windows,” said Toni Yue, vice president and general manager for China.
“Combined with our technical and commercial support, that diversified portfolio gives growers more options to build toward a reliable, year-round supply of premium blueberries for Chinese consumers.”
