The berry sector in the province of Huelva aims to export about 25,000 tonnes of blueberries to European markets this season, which is almost its entire production, given that the domestic market absorbs only two percent.
The manager of the Association of Producers and Exporters of Strawberries from Huelva (Freshuelva), Rafael Domínguez, has stressed that Spain is the world's fifth largest producer of blueberries.
Globally, the largest exporters are the United States and Canada, and at European level, Poland has the lead, followed by Germany and Spain, where the campaign, just like in the case of strawberries, has started earlier.
"The peak of the campaign is reached in May," stressed Domínguez, and over the course of it, which has so far developed normally, Huelva's exports are expected to reach about 25,000 tonnes.
Last year, Spain as a whole (the main producers are Huelva, Asturias and Cantabria) exported almost 30,000 tonnes, mainly to the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Ireland, Belgium, Italy and Portugal, among others.
Since 2012, blueberry exports to European markets have grown by more than 42 percent, reaching nearly 30,000 tonnes last season. As for prices, according to data supplied by FEPEX, the annual average has dropped by around ten percent between 2012 and 2015.
This season, the acreage devoted to blueberries has grown by 33 percent, from 1,470 to 1,953 hectares, although it should be noted that blueberries become commercially productive in the third year after the planting.
