For the first time in about a decade, total North American blueberry shipments in 2015 were lower, according to preliminary estimates.
The crop was down 22 million pounds from last year’s 744.8 million pounds. The final numbers would be released in March.
The only regions that grew in volume were the western U.S. and Mexico. The rest of the United States and Canada saw comparable or smaller blueberry shipments.
The biggest drop in volume for any region was in Michigan, which had a rough year due to weather, and the states of Georgia and New Jersey were moderately down. British Columbia remained the largest producing region on the continent and experienced flat figures this year. Meanwhile, Washington State saw the largest increase as the U.S.’s leading blueberry state.
Elsewhere, California and Oregon saw only minimal increases and Mexico registered a gradual increase. However, Mexican production was still relatively small, and will have less than 30 million pounds of blueberries. Weather was a major factor for the decline, while labor was also an issue in many areas. North American blueberry shippers have been growing at 80-100 million pounds a year for a number of years, so perhaps a decline was over due.