The 2023 International
Blueberry Organization (IBO) Summit will be taking place on July 3-6 in Poland, in the scenic city of Lublin – the capital of the main Polish soft fruit production region.
Over the recent years, the country has been setting the example on how to promote blueberry consumption and boost domestic demand. Polish production is growing fast, but imports are also on the rise – by an impressive 116% between 2020 and 2022, i.e. growing over 4 times faster than exports.
“Our ‘Time for Polish superfruit’ campaign is funded out of the Fruit and Vegetable Promotion Fund, which, in turn, is financed by growers” explains Dominika Kozarzewska of the Polish Blueberry Promotion Foundation, who is also involved in organizing the event in Lublin. “We promote 11 species of Polish soft fruits, thus creating a ‘Berry Relay’. We do not perceive strawberries or raspberries as competition for blueberries – each fruit has its own peak season, unique health properties and taste – together they enable consumers to have a cup of locally grown fresh soft fruit on each day for over 8 months of the year.”
This approach has brought great results not only in the Polish season. As people get used to consuming more soft fruit, penetration grows in the imports season, too. According to Kantar, the number of consumers of blueberries increased by 72% in February 2023 compared to February 2021. More insights on how this was achieved will be shared during the session ‘Making Blueberries the World’s Favorite Superfruit’ taking place on the second day of the IBO Summit.
“It is true that Poland boasts a unique climate, with hot summer days and rather chilly nights, which allow our blueberries to achieve a perfect balance of sweet and sour flavors” concludes Bartłomiej Milczarek, Chairman of the Polish Blueberry Growers Association. “However, our main strength is in our ability to cooperate, both within the blueberry growers community and with producers of other soft fruit. Thanks to this cooperation we have been able to boost domestic consumption and thus contribute to the development of a more sustainable global blueberry market in the future. We very much look forward to exchanging experiences with the global blueberry community at the IBO Summit”.
For more information: www.ibosummit2023.com.