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The blueberry market in Europe is one of the fastest growing in the fruit and vegetable segment. The production and consumption of these berries is continuously on the rise. While 2021 was not a very positive year, experts prove that the industry still has room for newly-established plantations, and the fruit grown on them will still be marketable. However, following the needs of consumers and retail chains is the key for blueberry farms.

The highbush blueberry is one of the world’s fastest growing markets of fresh fruit. Marketing around these berries is – due to their health-promoting properties – very advantageous, which generates growing per capita consumption. Europe is the second largest importer of this fruit in the world, just behind the United States, so blueberries are grown by more and more European countries, Romania as one of them.

Process automation is becoming increasingly common in the fresh produce industry. Machines are able to work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week with the same efficiency, speed, quality, and most importantly without any interruptions. Automated systems eliminate the impact of the human factor. Workers are not robots, so it is not possible to maintain the same speed and quality of work throughout the shift.

Nowadays, when we have access to many suppliers of machines and equipment for sorting and packing blueberries, producers and growers find it difficult to answer basic questions related to the blueberry production process. Sometimes they don't realize how many aspects they have to consider when choosing the best solution for them.

Although there are still almost three months until the beginning of the season in Poland, growing anxiety among soft fruit producers can already be noticed. The closed borders and quarantines caused by the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic put into question not only how the market will change, but also whether sufficient seasonal workers will be found.