Global Wild Production
Report Team Narrative
Wild blueberries have seen a rebound in pricing worldwide since the pandemic began, prompting the reactivation of blueberry barrens in Maine that had been left temporarily fallow following the impacts of oversupply problems in 2016. However, other contributing factors to the steady production decline in the state in the years preceding the pandemic have not gone away – pest and disease pressure, volatile climatic conditions, aging wild blueberry farmers with succession challenges, and the opportunity costs of holding coastal land where these berries are picked that in some cases is being converted to wind and solar farms.
Maine and eastern Canada account for the largest share of global wild blueberry production with the native Vaccinium angustifolium as the main species representing 95% of North America’s crop while the remaining 5% is Vaccinium myrtilloides, also known as the velvet leaf blueberry. Because of the difficulty transporting wild blueberries fresh in marketable condition, 99% of the fruit is frozen with the berries put in the freezer within 24 hours of harvest and stored for up to three years.
A variable climate with a combination of frosts, freezes, drought and higher temperatures has negatively impacted the productivity of wild blueberry fields, which in the lead-up to the 2016 peak season were in a state of expansion in Canada and overall decline in Maine. In 1995 both Maine and Canada had equivalent levels of wild blueberry production, but the Canadian Government released tracts of Crown land to private growers and encouraged growth in the Canadian sector which now produces a much larger volume than the U.S. North America’s 2021 wild crop would have been significantly larger if it weren’t for weather- and drought-related conditions experienced in Quebec.
With an industry spread across different Canadian provinces plus one principal U.S. state, there is a degree of diversification at play with wild blueberries picked – predominantly by machine – in areas with very different conditions, which somewhat, but far from entirely, offsets production volatility. For example, in 2020 Quebec produced by far the largest volume in the continent, but in 2021 it was well behind Maine, and grew less than New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Prince Edward Island is another production region of note, while Newfoundland has miniscule volumes.
Quebec has a continental climate unlike other Canadian wild blueberry growing provinces with more maritime climate conditions, and the province suffered a crop failure in 2021 prompted by drought and spring frosts, setting it back below levels it had been tracking at for more than a decade. It is worth highlighting Quebec still has opportunity to grow, and the number of acres where wild blueberries have been activated has approximately tripled within two decades. In New Brunswick there is a new strategic plan to release more Crown land, which if implemented would unlock a 69% increase in land for the crop by 2035. Meanwhile, in Nova Scotia some less productive land is due to be taken out of production, but the industry projects it can double output by increasing production inputs. A major limiting factor in Canada will be the availability of pollinators as the native overwintering hives are not strong and the hives produced from Ontario are variable. Maine, in contrast, can source strong, active hives from the southern US and so does not have this limitation.
The fruit is grown in naturally occurring wild stands in the northeast of North America that evolved after glacial retreat 10,000 years ago, and based on observations of the average plant cover, experts estimate an average of 270 different genotypes can be found per hectare. Growers believe it is this diversity that gives the fruit its unique character. Wild blueberries are also smaller than highbush blueberries, and the wild blueberry industry’s proponents claim they also have more antioxidants. The wild blueberry industry continues to invest heavily in lowbush blueberry-specific health research and promotions.
In an environment where demand is currently exceeding supply, the Maine industry has a large domestic focus in addition to Canada-oriented exports, but the state also exports to Japan, South Korea and the EU with overseas shipments aimed at preserving customer bases. Canada exports about half its wild crop to the U.S., in addition to others such as Germany, Japan and China.
Wild production outside of North America is difficult to track and is based on best estimates from industry sources.
In terms of European wild blueberry production, Vaccinium myrtillus or the European bilberry is native to the continent as well as the Caucuses and much of Asia. Scandinavia is a major source of production with bilberry bushes to be found throughout the forests of Norway and Sweden, although only the latter has a sizable commercial industry. However, crops are extremely variable as is access to labor with pickers needing to be flown into the harvest regions in many cases. It is also highly likely, but not corroborated, that the conflict in Ukraine has disrupted wild blueberry harvests in Eastern Europe.
Chinese Wild blueberries
‘Chinese Wild’: Vaccinium Uliginosum L. and Vaccinium Vitis Idaea are native to China, particularly the forested northern provinces of the country. The native Vaccinium Uliginosum is often dark reddish-blue, red or dark blue and often referred to as “蓝莓”(pronounced “Lan Mei”). “Lan Mei” is the most common word used for blueberries in China and now applies to highbush as well. Meanwhile the Vaccinium Vitis Idaea, or Lingonberries, are a deep red and also native to the northern reaches of Europe, especially Scandinavia. These berries are harvested most often by villagers who live near the forested areas where these species grow. The fruit is then sold on to brokers who process the fruit or resell it to processors who sell the finished product. Most of the fruit is now sold domestically, often as a health product in teas, powders, dried fruit, extracts and even cosmetics. Annual production is largely contingent on the amount harvested from the wild and the impact of winter weather on the crop.
‘Chinese Cultivated Lowbush’: Another interesting segment of Chinese domestic blueberry production is the ‘Cultivated Lowbush’ industry. In the far northern provinces of Jilin, Heilongjiang and the continental north of Liaoning, the extreme winters have proven a challenge for traditional highbush production. Early trials conducted in the late 1990s and early 2000’s led by Jilin Agricultural University, showed that the cold hardy Lowbush and ‘Half High’ cultivars were more likely to crop and survive in the harsh conditions. Most of these varieties are considered ornamentals in the rest of the world while a few others represent exemplary selections from Wild patches in North America sourced from the USDA germplasm repository in the 1990’s. Cold hardiness, increased likelihood of protection from snow cover (due to plant height) and apparent tolerance of difficult soil and moisture conditions have led to the large-scale planting of Cultivated Lowbush (in rows) and ‘Half High’ blueberries. Due to mixed information available from China, it is likely that most of the ‘cultivated lowbush’ production from China is represented in the Highbush production and acreage figures for China.