The 2012 B.C. blueberry harvest is shaping up to one of the biggest - and sweetest - yet.
Although wet weather in early summer delayed the ripening and subsequent harvesting of the blueberry crop, the hardiness of the berry meant that very little was impacted by the rain. Instead, the hot weather that has endured since mid-July has meant that BC's blueberry growers are experiencing not just one peak of production, but a second peak as well.
"We're hearing from blueberry growers from across our core growing region, from Richmond and Delta, through to Pitt Meadows, Langley and Abbotsford, and the overwhelmingly majority are looking at record volumes this year," said Debbie Etsell, executive director of the BC Blueberry Council, which represents the entire industry of over 800 producers.
Historically, approximately half of the BC blueberry crop is sold fresh, both domestically and in foreign markets, with the other half processed, which includes frozen, dried, juiced, pureed and powdered blueberries. While it's too early to tell if this will be the case this season, the industry should know in the next two to three weeks how much of the harvest will end up as processed product that can be sold throughout the year. ?
DID YOU KNOW?
Plantings of premium quality highbush blueberries top 8,100 hectares in British Columbia and produce upwards of 40 million kilograms of blueberries annually. With more than $1 billion in sales in the past five years, Canada is the third largest national producer of highbush blueberries in the world. Available fresh in Canada from July through October, B.C. blueberries are also frozen, dried, juiced, pureéd and powdered, available for year round-distribution throughout the world.
