British Columbia (BC) blueberry growers are looking to finish the season on a high note, after ‘very favorable’ weather throughout the spring and summer harvests. 
The province’s growers are just getting started picking the late-ripening Elliot variety, and reports allegedly show the cultivar has higher than usual brix levels – most likely a result of the excellent sunny weather that Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley have experienced this year.
In a release, BC Blueberry Council executive director Debbie Etsell said she was delighted with how the season had gone.
“Our region’s hot days and cool nights provide optimal, natural conditions for growing high-quality blueberries,” she said.
“This year’s weather has been true to British Columbia’s reputation, and we have strong volumes of high-brix Elliott blueberries heading out to customers to show for it.”
Harvest started about a week earlier than the past two years, and as a result of the consistent ripening of the crop picking could finish as early as mid-September.
The BC Blueberry Council is expecting 2014′s total harvest to come in at 68,000 metric tons (MT), putting it 24% higher than last year’s crop of 55,000MT.
As a country, Canada ranks as the third-largest highbush blueberry producer.
08/28/2014
Fresh Fruit Portal
