Mexican blueberry production growth slows down

Mexican blueberry production has grown for five years in a row, surpassing 50,000 tons in 2020, but the 2.6 percent year-over-year growth represents a slowdown, the Mexican Ministry of Agriculture told Opportimes.

Blueberry production went from 15,000 to 29,000 tons from 2015 to 2016, to 37,000 tons in 2017, 40,000 tons in 2018, 49,000 tons in 2019, and 50,293 in 2020. During the last 10 years, blueberry production has registered an average annual growth rate of 25.1 percent.

In 2020, 4,7000 hectares were allocated to blueberry production. The state of Jalisco generated 31.5 percent of the national production value with 23,169 tons.

International sales reached $399 million in 2020 with 95.9 percent of the exported volume going to the U.S., but exports went to 34 other nations.

The U.S. is the world’s largest blueberry importer, with import purchases worth $1.4 billion in 2020.