Beautiful Plants For Your Interior
During the 2025/26 Peruvian blueberry season, prices in the Chinese market experienced roller-coaster fluctuations.
Peruvian blueberries started arriving in early July, while domestic blueberries were still abundantly supplied, creating price competition between the two. Industry insiders from Peru told International Fruit & Vegetable News that since the Peruvian blueberry supply period partially overlaps with the harvest period in Chinese production areas such as Dandong, Peru adjusts its shipments according to domestic blueberry availability.
In July, the Dandong blueberry region experienced several rounds of heavy rainfall. Peruvian industry sources expected a decrease in domestic blueberry supply and thus increased shipments to China. However, the supply from Dandong exceeded expectations, and due to the reduced shelf life of rain-affected fruit, market prices dropped. Meanwhile, customs records showed that 922.5 tons of Peruvian blueberries arrived in July. The combination of lower domestic prices and large volumes of Peruvian blueberries led to a decline in the overall blueberry market.
In August, shipments of Peruvian blueberries surged further, reaching 4,588.4 tons. By mid-month, the market price for ordinary small berries fell to a low of 60 yuan per box, and some retailers in second-tier cities even offered extreme low prices of 4 yuan (125g). Besides the excessive market supply, another reason was that early-season Peruvian blueberries were slightly sour due to weather, dragging down prices, especially for extra-large berries of 22-24mm, which saw significant price differences compared to the same period in previous years.
Records from the fruit price information platform Fruit Data Kings show that by late August to early September, Peruvian blueberry prices surged rapidly due to a shortage of market supply, with varieties including Sekoya Pop, Biloxi, Venture, and April Blue. However, since Chinese consumers are accustomed to the sweeter taste of domestic blueberries, while early-season Peruvian blueberries are more tart, the prices for all Peruvian blueberry varieties remained below the previous two seasons. The transaction price of Sekoya Pop dropped by about 49% year-on-year, and Biloxi decreased by 40%. Some retailers’ average prices were only 15.00 yuan (125g), compared to 17.25 yuan (125g) last year.
Peruvian blueberry industry insiders indicated that the pricing mechanism in the Chinese market differs from the European and American markets. In foreign countries, large retailers dominate pricing, whereas in China, wholesale markets largely dictate market trends, causing prices to change rapidly. The Peruvian blueberry industry needs to take note of this.
It is understood that the first half of the year is not the main period for Peruvian blueberry production and export, and shipment volumes tend to decline slightly. Over 85% of Peruvian blueberry exports occur from July to December, and the second-half data is expected to rebound. It is projected that by the end of this season, Peruvian blueberry exports will exceed 400,000 tons, with export volume growing nearly 25%. However, due to the pricing crisis, the total export value is expected to increase by only 8-13%.
To continuously meet the Asian market’s demand for high-quality, large-sized blueberries, the Peruvian blueberry industry has been focused on introducing new licensed varieties, such as lbus, Colossus, Magnus, Keecrisp, and FL19-006. Each variety is tailored to different production windows and market preferences, targeting high-end markets and avoiding market saturation.
In the future, to enhance the global competitiveness of Peruvian blueberries, the industry must not only update varieties but also accelerate market diversification and address urgent logistics challenges. Currently, the United States remains the primary export destination for Peruvian blueberries, but Peru aims for Asia to replace the U.S. as its main export market. With QianKai Port set to become fully operational within three years, transportation time from Peru to Asia will be greatly shortened, reducing Peru’s reliance on the U.S. and European markets.
