What is a blueberry?
A small edible berry from plants in the genus Vaccinium. Commercial cultivation includes northern highbush, southern highbush, rabbiteye and other types; wild lowbush blueberries are another market.
A FIELD GUIDE TO A GLOBAL FRUIT
Small berry.
Big world.
From the farms of China to the export ports of Peru, discover who grows, ships, and buys the world's blueberries—and why those aren't the same countries.
2024 COMPARABLE INDUSTRY DATA2025 IBO REPORT
THE BLUEBERRY
ECONOMY ↗
ECONOMY ↗
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THE BIG THREE ↘
01 / GROWS THE MOSTChina
698,660 tonnes produced in 2024.
02 / EXPORTS THE MOSTPeru
329,090 tonnes of fresh cultivated blueberries exported.
03 / IMPORTS THE MOSTUSA
~310,000 tonnes of fresh blueberries imported.
01 — WHERE THEY GROW
The world's blueberry heartlands.
China leads cultivated production, followed by the United States and Peru. These 2024 figures include both fresh-market and processing fruit.
CULTIVATED BLUEBERRY PRODUCTION2024 · THOUSAND METRIC TONNES
01
ChinaWorld's largest grower
698.7k
02
United StatesDomestic market powerhouse
355.0k
03
PeruExport-led growth
329.6k
04
ChileSouthern Hemisphere supplier
150.5k
05
SpainEuropean production
78.0k
06
MoroccoFast-growing supplier
71.7k
07
MexicoNorth American supply
69.4k
08
CanadaFresh + wild blueberries
68.9k
09
PolandEuropean berry region
66.0k
10
South AfricaSouthern Hemisphere supply
38.6k
Source: International Blueberry Organization, Global State of the Blueberry Industry Report 2025, 2024 cultivated production table.
02 — THE GLOBAL TRADE
Grown here.
Enjoyed everywhere.
Fresh blueberry exports are led by Peru. Import markets are led by the United States. The Netherlands is an important gateway that also re-exports imported fruit across Europe.
FRESH CULTIVATED BLUEBERRIES
Leading exporters ↗
2024 export volume · thousand tonnes
01Peru
329.1k t
02Netherlands
125.1k t
03Chile
89.1k t
04Mexico
72.4k t
05Morocco
64.9k t
06Spain
55.0k t
07United States
35.2k t
08Canada
27.8k t
09Hong Kong
27.7k t
Peru is the export leader; the Netherlands ranks highly partly because of re-exports. Methodology ↗
FRESH BERRY IMPORT MARKETS
Leading importers ↙
2024 volume · selected major markets
01
United States~310K tonnes; USDA fresh blueberry imports
~310.0k t02
NetherlandsEuropean import and re-export hub
~117.6k t03
GermanyMajor European consumer
~82.8k t04
United KingdomYear-round retail demand
~72.1k tImport volumes combine USDA blueberry-specific data for the US and UN Comtrade HS 081040 for other listed markets; these are not a single harmonized ranking. See caveats ↗
THE SURPRISING PART
Europe can import a berry into Rotterdam, then trade it across a second border. Importer and exporter rankings can both include the Netherlands.
03 — FOLLOW A BLUEBERRY
One berry.
Thousands of miles.
A simplified example of how a blueberry grown in Peru can reach a supermarket overseas.
01 / ORIGINPeruvian farms
Growers harvest ripe berries and pre-cool them to protect freshness.
→
02 / EXPORTCold-chain logistics
Grading, packaging and refrigerated shipping keep fruit market-ready.
→
03 / MARKETUnited States & Europe
Importers distribute fruit to retailers; Dutch logistics can route it onward within Europe.
ILLUSTRATIVE SUPPLY CHAIN · NOT A TRACKED INDIVIDUAL SHIPMENT
04 — BLUEBERRIES, EXPLAINED
Everything starts
with the fruit.
Why blueberries grow where they do, how growers cultivate them, and what the numbers really mean.
Where can they grow?
Blueberries typically thrive in acidic, well-drained soil, commonly around pH 4.5–5.5. Different cultivars suit temperate regions or warmer, low-chill growing zones.
How are they grown?
Growers manage soil acidity, irrigation, pollination, pruning and pests. Harvested fruit is sorted and cooled rapidly; export quality relies on firmness, shelf life and taste.
Fresh versus processed?
Some blueberries enter stores fresh; others are frozen or turned into juices, jams and ingredients. Their export statistics and commodity classifications are not interchangeable.
Why does seasonality matter?
Different growing seasons in northern and southern hemispheres allow retailers to offer blueberries year-round. Peru and Chile complement northern production periods.
What's the market opportunity?
Profit depends on cultivar, yield, quality, labor, shipping distance, access to buyers and cold-chain performance—not simply how many tonnes a country grows.
05 — QUESTIONS WORTH ASKING
Berry good
questions.
Clear answers to commonly confused trade terms.
Which country produces the most blueberries? +
China leads global cultivated blueberry production in the IBO's 2024 figures, at approximately 698,660 tonnes.
Which country exports the most? +
Peru, at approximately 329,090 tonnes of fresh cultivated blueberries in 2024. Exporting is different from producing: much of China's crop serves domestic demand.
Where does Peru export blueberries? +
Major destinations include the United States, the Netherlands (often an entry point for European distribution), the United Kingdom and China. The precise destination mix changes by season and year.
Why is the Netherlands an exporter? +
Dutch trading and logistics companies import blueberries from producing countries and distribute or re-export them throughout Europe. Exports are not necessarily domestically grown fruit.
Why do trade rankings disagree? +
Trade datasets may measure value or volume, calendar versus crop years, fresh cultivated blueberries versus all berries, and direct exports versus re-exports. The six-digit HS 081040 category includes other Vaccinium berries; it is not blueberry-only.
Are blueberry rankings updated live? +
No. This is a sourced 2024 snapshot published in 2025. Later years may have provisional country data, but those figures have not been mixed into this comparison.
06 — TRANSPARENT DATA
Numbers you
can trace.
The same berry can be counted in different ways. For clarity, source, year and measurement are stated explicitly.
01
International Blueberry Organization · 2025 report2024 cultivated production and fresh cultivated export tables · pages 42–43
↗02USDA Economic Research Service · Fruit and Tree Nuts OutlookMarch 2025 · 2024 US blueberry import volume and major suppliers
↗03World Bank WITS / UN Comtrade2024 fresh HS 081040 export trade; includes cranberries and other Vaccinium fruit
↗04USDA Foreign Agricultural ServiceHow customs codes classify blueberries and why cross-country rankings differ
↗Method: Production and fresh-export bars use the IBO 2025 report (2024 cultivated blueberry figures, thousands of metric tonnes). Selected import market data: USA from USDA's 684 million pounds (rounded to ~310,000 tonnes); Netherlands, Germany and UK from World Bank WITS / UN Comtrade HS 081040 (includes other Vaccinium berries). Therefore imports are indicative and not strictly blueberry-only or an exhaustive top-country ranking. Volume is different from export value. Re-exports can appear in global trade totals.