New Zealand blueberries beat sales record
The huge demand for New Zealand blueberries is being well received by the New Zealand producers, who have exported the record amount of 1,37 million kilograms of fruit this season.
Blueberries New Zealand (BBNZ) announced on June 10 that more than 10 million tubs of berries (worth $30 million FOB) had been exported through the end of March, an increase of 40% over to the previous season.
“Demand continues to grow, especially in Asia-Pacific, where a culture of using food as medicine prevails,” explains Blueberries New Zealand President Dan Peach. “Asian markets have proven to have a clear and voracious blueberry appetite thanks to the broad assortment of health benefits they offer".
BBNZ is working proactively to open new markets in Asia-Pacific and allow its members to benefit from the popularity of this fruit. As a result, New Zealand producers have been expanding their businesses, whose planned plantation estimates will be an additional 50% area within the next two years. With such long terms from the plantation until they yield economically (10-12 years), the producers have been planting a lot during the last five years.
"There are few products that can take advantage of both the 'NZ Inc' in Asia-Pacific and blueberries.says Peach. “We have a unique location, with a counter-season offer that enjoys the benefits of the clean, green and safe image that New Zealand products have in Asia.” (MFAT 2012).
"This has good synergy with the innumerable health benefits of blueberries to create a value-added product, and it fits with the broader steps of the Government and the primary industry to diversify the use of land and products to something other than wholesale items with few margins".
Cranberries are usually considered a nutritional engine that contains higher antioxidant levels than most fruits and vegetables.
The industry is particularly enthusiastic about a recent study by a doctor from Massey University, who has discovered that animals that consume blueberries have a breast cancer rate at a lower 50% (Vuthijumnonk, 2016).
"The more you study blueberries, the more talents you seem to have hidden under your skinsays Peach.
Another New Zealand study shows that consuming blueberries before a session of intense exercise or a large sports match helps improve recovery, and keeps the brain sharp by improving blood flow to the brain and muscles (Hurst, 2014).
"A diet low in fruits is also considered the third biggest risk factor for death from non-contagious disease, after tobacco and hypertension, so it's not hard to see why blueberries are so coveted"He concludes.
Source: Blueberriesnz.co.nz.
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