Blueberry demand benefits from short strawberry supply

Peru is the dominant supplier of blueberries to the U.S. this time of year, but production is past its peak and export volumes for the 2025-2026 season are starting to come down. While overall volumes are higher compared to last season, they aren’t as high as initially projected. “The original forecast from Peru contained a significant increase over last season, but the revised forecast of a shorter campaign is more accurate,” says Joe Powell with Always Fresh Farms.

Smooth movement continues
Overall, the Peruvian season went very well with strong quality berries and good shelf-life on the early season arrivals. “We have seen superb size and flavor from our growing partners, which resulted in excellent demand and fluid movement,” added Always Fresh’s Matthew Giddings. Initial thoughts of a mid-season dip in pricing and demand were somewhat mitigated by a short strawberry market, caused by extensive rainfall in California. Due to the damage to strawberries, blueberries have been serving as a great replacement item. “As we look at the backside of the Peruvian blueberry season and the transition to the Chilean season, movement is expected to remain smooth.”

Transition to Chile
The transition to Chile has started, but shipments are starting slowly and are anticipated to increase significantly in the coming weeks. Always Fresh Farms expects to ship the first volumes out of Chile this week and is excited to see the country’s efforts. “Improvements in experience of quality and flavor come to fruition as we have witnessed the investment in time, effort, and cost to replace outdated varieties,” said Giddings. Overall, Chile’s volumes are expected to increase slightly over last season.

For now, blueberries are expected to stay high in demand due to short strawberry supply. Will blueberry import volumes be sufficient to meet the demands of the U.S. market? “With the current Peruvian supply and the incoming Chilean supply, we remain confident we’ll be able to meet the increased market demand,” finished Powell.

For more information:
Always Fresh Farms
Joe Powell
Tel: (+1)Always Fresh Farms
joe.powell@alwaysfresh.com