Many people have heard that growing blueberries is very profitable, and it seems that it is true, the net profit per mu can reach 7 to 80,000 yuan, and the high can reach 100,000 yuan, which can be said to be a huge profit for the planting industry.
It stands to reason that the price of high-end fruits is generally declining after the localization of planting, such as strawberries, sunshine rose grapes, etc., after large-scale localized planting, the freedom of consumption has been realized.
However, blueberries are not cheap at the moment. At present, domestic blueberries are in the marketing season, although they are much cheaper than imports, but they can still be sold at a good price, you see, "99 yuan can buy 6 boxes (125 grams), a small basket is sold for 49.9 yuan, which is the price in a group buying group in a small area in Hangzhou. In supermarkets, domestic blueberries are generally 40-50 yuan a catty, and a small box of 125 grams can be sold for about 10-15 yuan.
Image source: Chao News
Image source: Xiaoxiang Morning News
There are several reasons why blueberries are cheap
First, the market potential is huge, and blueberries are a good thing, suitable for all ages. According to statistics, the per capita consumption of blueberries in the United States is 2.63 kilograms, while China's current per capita consumption of blueberries is only 0.26 kilograms, and the per capita consumption is very low.
Second, the market has just started and is far from reaching the saturation stage, and in the past five years, the demand for blueberries in mainland China has grown at an annual rate of 40%. At the same time, third- and fourth-tier cities and towns still have a large enough consumer market to be explored.
According to statistics, as of 2023, the national blueberry planting area is only about 1.155 million mu, with an output of 525,000 tons. However, the annual demand for blueberries in China is about 1 million tons, and the output cannot fully meet the strong demand of the market, after all, scarce is expensive.
Fourth, now people's requirements for healthy food are getting higher and higher, blueberries are rich in anthocyanins, which can effectively protect the eyes, enhance immunity and delay aging, few fruits have more anthocyanin content than blueberries, so they are favored by consumers. As early as 2017, blueberries were recommended by FAO as one of the foods for human health.
Fifth, the taste of blueberries is getting better and better, in the past, the taste of blueberries gave people the impression of being sour, the taste was bland, and there was no fruity aroma. With the continuous improvement of the breeding level and the improvement of planting technology, most of the blueberries on the market are large, sweet, less acidic, crisp and delicious, and have a unique floral fragrance, from the 80-year-old to the kindergarten children like to eat, it can be said that it covers most of the population, so that it is suitable for all ages.
Sixth, blueberry fresh fruit can not only be eaten directly, but also can be used to make juice, jam, wine, processing and making health care products, etc., which has a long industrial chain, which can meet the needs of different consumers.
Although the blueberry industry development prospects are promising, but the blueberry planting cycle is relatively long, generally planted in the current year, the second year will be a small amount of flowering and fruiting, the third year will slowly increase the output, to the fifth year will enter the harvest period, this cycle is longer, which means that the investment risk will increase, this should be fully considered before entering the industry.
The progress of the times is too fast, no matter where the people, whether the citizens or the peasants, making money is the primary task, and the rural people are guarding this one-third of an acre of land, how can they grow money? A family of several people always have to eat, people move to work, and now the price of strawberries in the market is not very good, and this year many people have withdrawn, or switched to planting blueberries, it is not difficult to understand.