Contribution of Health Attributes, Research Investment and Innovation to Developments in the Blueberry Industry

Abstract

This paper examines how the United States and Canadian highbush and lowbush blueberry industries have changed over the last two decades. Production increases have been driven by a combination of changing consumer preferences for healthy foods and the development of new cultivars that have opened new production regions, expanded fresh market opportunities, and created new food products. Canada has found it advantageous and economical to invest its research effort in the development of the lowbush blueberry, exploiting its health protective properties. The United States has concentrated its research effort on highbush cultivars to lengthen the harvest window and promote diversification opportunities in the Southern United States. Highbush production expansion in the Pacific Northwest has relied very little on new cultivar development and improvements in yield but more on increases in cultivated area.