N.S. blueberry growers say international customers will buy up record harvest

TRURO, N.S. - Blueberry growers in central Nova Scotia say a growing number of international customers should help them sell off record harvests this year and offset shrinking prices.
Neil Erb, president of the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia, said Saturday that North America saw a record blueberry crop this year.
Nova Scotia's lowbush crop was slightly more than 18 million kilograms, which is up from the past couple of years and the fifth largest provincial crop on record.
The downside of bumper crops was a price drop from a record high of $2.20 per kilogram in 2006-07 to about $1.30. The farm-gate value was more than $24 million.
Erb said his group is actively promoting blue berries internationally, in such places as Germany, the United King, Japan and the United States to strike a better balance between supply and demand.
"We contribute a substantial amount of funds to the Wild Blueberry Association of North America," he said, adding that group has a growing number of international contacts which have already led to new markets.
"If demand is up, the price will hopefully increase, too."
Erb, a Lower Sackville resident with a family blueberry farm in Parrsboro, said the global financial turmoil hasn't appeared to have had a major impact on the movement of berries.
A total of 250 growers attended this weekend's conference.