Growing taste for blueberries drives sales
NEW figures show New Zealanders are devouring blueberries in record amounts.
A record eight million punnets of blueberries — worth more than $30 million — were sold last season.
It was a 1.1 million punnet (15.2%) increase on the 201920 blueberry season.
An almost identical rise was recorded the year before, confirming a huge
surge in the fruit’s popularity.
New Zealanders’ experiences with lockdown this year would likely push sales up even further this summer, Blueberries New Zealand chairman Dan Peach said.
He believed people had ‘‘genuinely reconnected with real food this year’’, particularly fruit and vegetables, Mr Peach said.
‘‘At the beginning of lockdown, people were worried about food security and whether they could get enough of what they needed — we saw long queues at supermarkets, and sales of fruit and vegetable plants at garden centres have since gone crazy.’’
Blueberry sales would benefit from this trend, especially since they were considered a superfood, Mr Peach said.
‘‘They contain higher antioxidant levels than just about every other fruit and vegetable. They’re low in calories, high in nutrients and will help improve your mood.’’
About 60% of New Zealand’s annual blueberry crop was exported to Australia and Asia, and growers expected international demand to be stronger than ever due to New Zealand’s effective Covid19 response, Mr Peach said.
‘‘Demand looks to be really strong internationally this year, and a hot, dry summer will produce exceptionally good berries.’’
New Zealand’s main blueberry season is now under way and will last until about March. — The Country