Fresh blueberry exports and imports reached record highs in 2024, according to a recent USDA report.

Industry viewpoints on international trade vary, and whether growth will continue with President Donald Trump’s tariffs remains unclear.

“We’ve never seen anything like this. There’s uncertainty,” said Bryan Ostlund, administrator of the Oregon Blueberry Commission.

Bumper crop

With a bumper crop, U.S. fresh blueberry exports increased 36% year-over-year to 104 million pounds in 2024. Shipments were valued at $163 million.

The North American Blueberry Council’s crop estimate for the domestic blueberry harvest was 735.5 million pounds, up 23% from the previous year.

Domestic blueberries typically are available from April to September, with peak shipments in July.

The Pacific Northwest is the U.S. powerhouse for blueberries, with Washington representing 23% of production and Oregon at 22%.

Canada is the top market for U.S. exports, accounting for 94% of volume in recent years.Processed fruit, excluding juice, makes up about half of blueberry exports.

From three countries

Shipments from foreign countries into the U.S. totalled 684 million pounds, up 22%, and worth $2.2 billion.

Blueberries were the fourth most valuable imported fresh fruit in the U.S., behind avocados, bananas and grapes. Peru, Mexico and Chile supply nearly 90% of imported blueberries by volume.

Roughly 15% of imports are organic.

Steady supply of fruit

Alyssa Houtby, government affairs director for the North American Blueberry Council, said being a net importer of blueberries isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it keeps a steady supply of fruit in the market.

Kasey Cronquist, president of the NABC, said in an email that a consistent presence of fresh blueberries year-round is essential to making the fruit a household staple.

“Any trade actions that reduce blueberry consumption in the U.S. ultimately harm consumers, growers and the broader economy,” he wrote.

Houtby said blueberry imports are counterseasonal and don’t negate the importance of export markets.

Getting ‘clobbered’ by imports

Alan Schreiber, the Washington Blueberry Commission’s executive director, said Washington exports more blueberries than any other state, but is getting “clobbered” by imports.

“It’s a terrible impact to our industry,” he added. “They used to be countercyclical, but Peru comes in earlier every year and directly competes against the Northwest.”

In Peru and Mexico, labor costs and other farm expenses are much cheaper.

Blueberries from Canada and Mexico have no tariffs as they are United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement compliant.

Schreiber said Washington ships about 40 million pounds of blueberries to Canada to be freshpacked and processed, as the state doesn’t have that capacity. Most of that fruit is returned to the United States.

“It’s kind of one industry, or joined at the hip,” Schreiber said.

Tariffs of 10% on berries from most other countries won’t keep out imported berries, but will have some small impact, Schreiber said.

“Personally I don’t think tariffs are a very good long term thing to do. But I think that short term, well targeted tariffs might help,” he said.