Whether baked into a muffin or blended into a smoothie, blueberries are fast becoming one of the nation’s favourite snacks.
Tesco has revealed that demand for blueberries has soared by 27 per cent this year.
But Britain’s growing demand for the berries is now rapidly outpacing what farmers are able to produce.
This year, UK shoppers are set to buy a whopping 57,000 tonnes of the berries – equivalent to four times the weight of the Eiffel Tower.
Tesco berries buyer Callum Baker says: ‘Blueberries are very much the fruit of the moment as they are so popular with all age groups because of their healthy reputation.’
Demand for blueberries has grown by 27 per cent in the last year as consumers have become more aware of the fruit’s potential health benefits
Tesco says that the spike in demand for blueberries comes down to the growing recognition of their healthy properties.
Mr Baker says that their popularity has grown especially sharply among children who ‘over the last decade have made them a lunchbox staple’.
A paper published in Frontiers in Nutrition, and funded by the United States Highbush Blueberry Council, found that blueberries have a number of striking health benefits.
The researchers concluded: ‘Promising evidence suggests that blueberry intake can be beneficial with respect to cardiovascular health, pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes, brain health and cognitive function, gut health, and exercise recovery.’
British growers are currently attempting to boost their production to keep up with rising demand, within the next few years major producers are set to increase their yields by 30 per cent by planting more varieties suited to the British climate
Blueberries are also relatively low in calories and high in fibre which has made them popular with many seeking an alternative to sweet treats.
Thanks to this increasing interest, blueberry farming in the UK is currently worth £481m to the economy.
However, Britain’s capacity to grow blueberries has so far not kept up with mounting demand.
Currently, British farmers produce only 6,000 tonnes of blueberries each year during the June to September growing season.
This means that Britain needs to import almost 90 per cent of its blueberries from abroad.
These blueberries are mostly imported from Peru, which sent the UK 286,000 tonnes of the fruit in 2023.
This allows the fruits to be bought outside the British growing season but means that they have a high carbon footprint from their transportation.
Peru’s dominance as the world’s biggest exporter of blueberries also means that the price of the fruit can be volatile.
British growers such as Hall Hunter (pictured) currently produce a total of 6,000 tonnes of the crop, leaving the UK to import almost 90 per cent of its blueberries
In 2023, extreme heat in Peru caused yields to tumble and triggered widespread berry shortages across the US.
As the supply dwindled, prices shot up 60 per cent, rising to $6 (£4.70) per pound.
In a report published last year, the International Blueberry Organization notes that prices eventually stabilised but warns that current growing patterns may not be sustainable.
In order to try and produce more blueberries domestically, British farmers are currently ramping up production.
Within the next few years, British farms will boost the UK yield by a third, reducing the reliance on international imports.
Tesco says it is now working with Hall Hunter, a British grower responsible for producing nearly half of the UK’s total production.
Over the last five years, Hall Hunter has increased its yield fourfold and can now produce 2,500 tonnes of blueberries each year.
Jim Floor, managing director of Hall Hunter, says: ‘Demand for blueberries is at an all-time high and due to the current popularity we are planting an additional 55 hectares which should produce about 4000 tonnes of fruit once the plants mature.’
Mr Floor also says that the company is beginning to introduce new crop varieties which are better suited to the UK’s cold and wet climate.
He says that these crops will include ‘both early and later maturing plants that will extend the current UK growing season from mid-June to mid-September.’
