Posts Tagged “Pacific Northwest blueberry shipments”
As the summer berry season hits its stride, California Giant Berry Farms of Watsonville, CA is preparing for its annual transition to the Pacific Northwest (PNW) blueberry growing region. Harvesting in the PNW was right on track kicking off around mid-to-late June, paving the way for strong, promotable volumes spanning the month of July.
Meanwhile, the company is gearing up for the start of its blackberry and raspberry season from Watsonville, CA.
The upcoming Pacific Northwest harvest arrives at a time of peak consumer demand for fresh berries. The peak volumes align with July demand.
“Our Pacific Northwest growing regions are shaping up beautifully, and we anticipate an outstanding crop just in time for the heart of summer,” said Tom Smith, vice president of sales and marketing at California Giant Berry Farms.”
Alongside the conventional and organic blueberry volume, the GIANT™ jumbo blueberry program—featuring 20mm+ berries—continues to deliver strong retail performance, supporting premium price points and high-impact displays. With jumbo blueberries showing over 60 percent year-over-year growth (NIQ), the program offers retailers an opportunity to drive incremental sales and differentiate in a competitive category.
Watsonville Berries
Blackberry volumes are steadily ramping up towards a late-July peak while raspberry production is in its peak. “Our Watsonville blackberry and raspberry season is starting earlier than usual this year,” says Smith, adding that peak volume of raspberries is expected to continue through the next few months. “A warm winter and spring advanced plant development. We expect the season to run through November and then transition back to Mexico supply.”
While both berries are coming from Watsonville, along with Mexico, in early-August, San Diego, CA will also be providing a strong supply of organic blackberries.
California Giant Berry Farms of Watsonville, CA is forecasting giant volumes of blues ahead.
California Giant blueberry growers in the Pacific Northwest started picking the first week in July, with total supply offering a strong volume window from mid-July through mid-August of both conventional and organic fruit.
“The pandemic greatly increased consumers’ desire for blueberries, and it hasn’t dissipated in 2022,” said Markus Duran, director of bushberry supply for California Giant Berry Farms. “Blueberries are increasingly becoming a consistent staple for consumers, who enjoy their immune-boosting nutrition, sweet taste and versatility as a fresh snack or ingredient item to a recipe. We anticipated this demand and are excited to report our summer production is on track to deliver top-quality fruit.”
“Overall, we’re seeing a good year-over-year increase in volume,” Duran said. “We’re forecasting for a strong harvest of conventional blueberries out of Oregon and British Columbia, and organic harvest out of Oregon and Washington in July and August. We’re on the right track to have a very positive year of blueberries.”
California Giant continues to provide a year-round supply of grown fresh berries.
Pacific Northwest blueberry shipments have been soaring in recent years.
Each season new records for blueberry shipments have been broken. Oregon blueberry shipments hit 134 million pounds last season, while and Washington State, which had only 18 million pounds in 2006, shipped 130 million pounds in 2018.
As the per capita consumption of blueberries in North America continues to increase faster than any other berry category, a reported 70 percent of the high bush blueberry production in the United States is currently in the West.
Within the five years it is expected Washington will exceed 200 million pounds, primarily due to new plantings.
Organic “blues” are also a major part of the blueberry industry accounting for nearly 25 percent of Oregon volume. In Washington, 90 percent of fresh blueberry production is organic.
With 20,000 pounds or more being harvested per acre, the Pacific Northwest has some of the highest blueberry yields in the world.