During the recent Global Berry Congress in Rotterdam, Hans Liekens from Sekoya and Ambrish Karvat from Yupaa spoke about opportunities for blueberries in the Asian markets.
In 2017, Sekoya was formed as a B2B platform with varieties bred by Fall Creek. It is now a global platform with 14 global members who all have access to the Sekoya varieties. "We have varieties for the south, which are low chill and zero chill growing in countries such as Peru, Mexico, etc., and varieties for the north, which are quite big and crunchy growing in Poland, but also in the north of America and the north of China. All these members have access to these varieties, and they are entitled to sell the fruit to the supermarkets. Our role as the platform is to be the link between the growers to supermarkets and the sublicenses" explained Hans Liekens.
The real motor of the growth is quality
Talking about the rapid increase in demand for blueberries in China Hans said that when he attended Asia Fruit Logistica last September it was the most over achieved fair he has ever done in his 30-year career. "It was interesting to see how well the buyers in Asia know the varieties, much better than general buyers in Europe. If it's not crunchy and tasteful, they don't buy it, so old varieties are out of the out of the game. The real motor of the growth is quality. They are also highly driven by the health benefits.
Next to China, Hans sees Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea as very interesting markets due to high incomes and awareness of health. He also sees Japan and India as drivers of growth.
Hans sees the domestic production in China as a huge benefit as they have seen from other areas and countries that local production really is a driver of consumer growth. "If you have local consumption, driven by local production, this will really boost the sales towards the consumer. So that's really important for us, we are seeing a lot of breeders and big companies planting the new genetics in China and in the south of Vietnam. You have the mid and the high chill varieties like in Europe, these will take three years before they give the volume, so the return on investment will be lower and it will take a long time to get 52 weeks supply so we will have to export a lot to China in the coming years. If the middle class starts eating the same quantity as we consume in America or in Europe, we won't have enough blueberries to feed the Chinese middle class in the next 10 years. I see opportunities for almost year-round supply to China and globally."
India around five years behind China
Ambrish Karvat started out more than 20 years ago when the Indian market first opened up to imported fruits. "Six years ago, we started growing blueberries in India as one of the first. Berry consumption in India is growing due to the health benefits, especially after COVID. India is importing a large volume of fresh and frozen blueberries. We are a pioneer in the fruit business in India and have always been ahead of the curve."
Ambrish said that India is growing just like China; consumption is big, but it will take time. They are probably five years behind China. "Last year, we imported 1400 tonnes of blueberries, and consumption is increasing by double digits. Local production has just begun and is increasing slowly. I think in the next five years, we'll be producing much larger volumes. But we are 1.3 billion people, and if 5% of them consume blueberries, there won't be enough blueberry production in India, and we'll be importing large volumes."
Indian blueberry imports come from different origins, including Peru, Chile, and the US, it comes by air and has a 30% import duty, making it a very expensive, high-end fruit.
Ambrish said that due to India's diverse climate and elevations, growing blueberries domestically could be a challenge, but it is also an opportunity as they can grow year-round.
"There is not much knowledge of blueberry growing in India. So, the Yupaa group is investing heavily in this sector. We have worldwide fruit connections, so we are bringing the experience into India, and we need to really work very closely with the farmers to educate them and provide the varieties that are suitable for them. It's challenging for the overseas companies to tie up with the right people to succeed in India."
Hans said that India is a much more complex country than China for them, because it is easy to find a grower, but you need a good partner there.
"Fall Creek and Sequoia have varieties to grow throughout India, they are trialed and planted already. So, we are preparing to scale up and looking for the right partners. We have varieties for all climatical conditions, so we can cover India, so that's not the big hurdle. The big hurdle is finding the right local partner. The second hurdle is on the sales side. Retailers are less developed than in China and Europe."
Can India be the next China?
Logistics and cold storage used to be a challenge in India, but according to Ambrish, there has been a lot of investment in cold storage, and the cold chain is in place.
"The Indian retail is very fragmented, and there are few chain stores, it's a traditional wholesale market, but it works very efficiently and very quickly compared to the chain stores. Normally, the fruit reaches the consumer within two days; the cold chain is short, and it works very efficiently. Our group works with 120 cities in India, and we see it working very well and it's very organized. It's a very organized chaos."
Summing up, Hans said that breeding companies must have varieties that can produce 52 weeks of the year in China, they have this at Fall Creek. "I think that that's really needed because the consumer wants to be eating blueberries, so you want to have something decent all year round. So never disappoint the consumer, because we know when they are disappointed, they stop buying for six to 10 weeks. So, our aim is consistent quality."
Ambish believes that local production is the key to increasing consumption in India because importing fruit makes it very, very expensive. "There is a very large middle class who is willing to buy the fruit at a certain price. So, if it's produced in India, it can be an affordable price, and the consumption will multiply. In five year's time, the consumption is going to be very huge. And there will be a significant opportunity for the entire berry sector.