EastFruit experts drew attention to very interesting information recently released in the United States concerning the consumption trends of various fruits and berries in this country over the past decade.
Why is knowing US consumption trends important for fruit and berry growers in Eastern Europe and Central Asia? Our experience and practice show that trends originating in the US often become global in the future. Of course, one should not think that the US trends will be followed directly because each region has its own specifics and traditions, but it is definitely worth taking a closer look at them.
By the way, this information is official as it has been provided by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is calculated as the local market availability of various fruits in 2021 compared to 2011 per US resident.
Let’s start with the product that stands out the most in the below chart – raspberries. Indeed, no other fruit has grown nearly as fast in the US in the last 10 years as this berry crop. Consumption growth of 192% over 10 years is a very serious indicator.
It should be noted that Ukraine might be one of the reasons for rapid increase in the US raspberry consumption. It was Ukraine that flooded the world market with very inexpensive frozen raspberries back in 2017-2019, which allowed more consumers to try this berry in various recipes. The same factor led to a price decline for fresh raspberries and generated more interest in this tasty and nutritious berry. Nowadays, areas of raspberries are being expanded worldwide, even in the countries of Central Asia, such as Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan, where raspberries were not previously grown in commercial volumes.
“Interestingly, another berry crop, blueberry, was in second place in terms of consumption growth in the United States over the recent 10 years. US blueberry consumption has doubled from 2011 to 2021! Considering that the United States 10 years ago and now was far ahead of all other countries in terms of average per capita consumption of blueberries, such an impressive growth for this berry is a very interesting indicator and shows good prospects for blueberries in other countries of the region.
In this regard, I am always surprised by the almost complete absence of blueberry plantations in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and other countries of Central Asia, where they could harvest blueberries in a very attractive market window and earn good money from their exports. Moreover, in the domestic market of Uzbekistan, prices for blueberries are almost the highest in the world, reaching US $40 in retail, which means that there is potential inside the country as well,” says Andriy Yarmak, an economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
For more information: east-fruit.com