Blueberries on the rise

Tracking the success of a top-10 Georgia commodity 

This demand — and the increased importance of the blueberry industry to Georgia’s economy — means CAES agricultural economists follow the complete value and supply chain of the blueberry industry. Researchers are tackling farm management, production and yield, harvesting, packaging, price trends, consumption, import and export trends, and policies that specifically impact the Georgia blueberry industry and the Georgia fruit and vegetable industries at large, according to Fonsah. 

“For instance, over two decades ago, there were four kinds of agricultural practices adopted for blueberries in the state of Georgia — rabbiteye, southern highbush, high density and organic blueberry production systems, respectively,” Fonsah said. “Presently, the high-density production system is no longer popular, while machine harvesting is increasing due to the problems caused by labor shortage.” 

Seasonality and the impact of trade are drivers of current research, according to Campbell. 

“We’re looking at seasonality — competition from other states such as Florida and North Carolina and how Georgia product fits within marketing windows,” Campbell said. “We also focus on the impact of trade; much like seasonality, when does product from other countries hit the market and cause Georgia prices to decrease.” 

Other factors include watching profitability — even though prices have increased, the price is most likely not keeping up with input cost increases experienced during the last few years, he added.

 Still, data shows a 14% increase in the farm gate value for blueberries from 2011 to 2021. Adjusting for inflation, the increasingly popular berry rose from $306 million to $348 million in value. In the same period, total blueberry acreage increased by 11% from roughly 21,300 acres in 2011 to almost 25,000 acres in 2021, according to Campbell.

 “All acreage is not the same, however; fresh highbush has increased by 83% in the last decade while rabbiteye has decreased by 22%,” Campbell said. “Prices, on the other hand, have increased by 4% and 5% for fresh highbush and rabbiteye, respectively, so most of the increased farm gate value is coming from increases in volume, not a price increase.” 

Even so, Fonsah said fresh blueberry prices have been one of the drivers of the increase in production.

 “In the past two decades — and although fluctuating — the national annual average blueberry prices have increased from $1.29 per pound in 2000 to $2.04 per pound in 2020,” Fonsah said. “Due to better fruit quality and overall cosmetic appearance, Georgia-grown blueberries sometimes receive better prices per pound than the national average.”