Blueberry prices plummet in China as domestic production surges

Blueberry prices across China have dropped sharply in recent weeks as rapidly expanding domestic production floods the market, turning the once-premium fruit into a more affordable everyday snack for many consumers.

Since March, prices have nearly halved compared with levels during the Spring Festival holiday. In many supermarkets, a 250-gram pack that previously sold for nearly 30 yuan ($4.1) now costs about 20 yuan, while wholesale prices have fallen from around 150 yuan per box to roughly 80 yuan.

In major producing regions such as Yunnan province, the farm-gate price of premium blueberries has dropped to about 30 yuan per kilogram — around 50 percent lower than a year earlier — even as sales volumes have doubled.

The price drop has sparked lively discussion online, with many consumers celebrating what they describe as finally achieving "blueberry freedom". "Once eaten the fruit sparingly, now I can consume the handful," a netizen said on social media.

Gao Dengtao, a blueberry expert at the Zhengzhou Fruit Research Institute at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said behind the price decline lies China's rapid rise as the world's largest blueberry producer.

Data showed that China's output reached 347,000 metric tons in 2020, ranking first globally for the first time. By 2025, production had climbed to about 810,000 tons — more than doubling within five years.

"Along with rising output, the quality of domestically grown blueberries has also improved and gained recognition in both domestic and overseas markets," Gao said.

A major turning point came around 2020, when new blueberry varieties grown using substrate-based cultivation were introduced in Yunnan. Benefiting from favorable climate conditions such as abundant sunshine and large day-night temperature differences, the berries matured early, produced high yields, and achieved strong market prices.

In 2025, Yunnan's blueberry output reached about 280,000 tons, accounting for roughly 30 percent of the national total, according to local authorities.

More than 300 companies have invested in the sector. "The planting area expanded rapidly from hundreds of hectares to about 16,667 hectares, fueling the blueberry industry's continued boom in recent years," Gao said.

Greenhouse blueberry cultivation has also expanded, spreading from Yunnan to several other provinces. As northern greenhouse harvests begin in March and April, increasing market supply continues to push prices down. Later in the season, open-field blueberries enter the market in large quantities and prices can fall further by June, Gao said.

However, although China now leads the world in blueberry production, most of the main commercial varieties grown in the country are imported. "Domestically bred varieties account for less than 10 percent of the market," Gao stressed.

Some research institutions and companies have begun developing local varieties. Zhejiang Lanmei Technology has promoted its Lanmei No 1 variety in parts of eastern China, while researchers at Dalian University in Liaoning province have developed experimental varieties such as "Xia'nyu" and "Qimingxing". However, most of these varieties remain in early testing or limited demonstration stages.

Breeding blueberries is technically challenging as the crop has a complex genetic background and developing a stable and high-quality variety often takes eight to 10 years. "Flavor traits such as sweetness, acidity, and aroma are controlled by multiple genes and can be strongly influenced by environmental conditions, making targeted improvement difficult," Gao said.

Researchers are exploring several advanced approaches, including molecular marker-assisted breeding, polyploid breeding, and gene-editing technologies to improve fruit quality, disease resistance, and environmental adaptability.

To accelerate innovation, several research institutions jointly established the China Southern Blueberry Innovation Center in Mile, Yunnan, in 2024, focusing on developing blueberry varieties with independent intellectual property rights.

In addition, as production continues to expand, deeper processing will see significant market potential and profit margins.

He Jiawei, a researcher from Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said most blueberries are currently sold as fresh fruit, while only a small share is used for processing. Products on the market are mainly basic processed items such as juice, dried fruit, and blueberry wine.

"With the continued expansion of planting areas, more blueberries are expected to be directed toward deep-processing industries in the future," he told Consumption Daily. Extending the industrial chain could focus on key compounds found in blueberries, such as anthocyanins and lutein, which could be used to develop high-value functional foods, health supplements, and cosmetic products, he added.