Market and Distribution of Blueberry

Market and Distribution of Blueberry
With a very large number of independent producers trying to market a product from an area relatively remote from large human population, marketing used to be a major problem.

The method of marketing depends to a great extent on the size of the business.

At one end of the scale there are the “hobby farmers” with an acre or two (less than a hectare) attached to their homes.

At the other end are the “big business boys,” the blueberry barons of the blueberry barrens.

Small farmers with less than 100 acres (40 hectares) have to be more commercially minded.

Some which have blueberries as part of their overall farm income may make enough money to live on, while other need an alternative, additional source of income.

Forestry, fishing and tourism all provide possible sources.

Some manage their own blueberry fields and harvest their own fruit, then sell to to a larger grower with modern sorting, packing and processing facility or to a local cooperative or agent who takes the fruit to the next stage.

Others, particularly older owners or those who need to spend their money and energy doing other things, carry out some of the work themselves but have a contract arrangement with larger growers who do the rest.

In some instances, contractors both manage the fields and take care of harvesting, packing, storage and marketing.

Large growers with hundreds or even thousands of acres carry out all the growing. Harvesting, processing, packing and storage themselves and act for others where required.

With the development of effective methods of freezing and transporting frozen fruit in the 1970s, the market began to expand.

From 1979, Japan became an increasingly important market.

This might seem strange because blueberries, either would or cultivated, had been unrecognized as a food in Japan. However, blueberries with their distinct visual appeal and association with American folklore, soon caught the imagination, and although the trend has turned in favor of the bigger cultivated blueberries, Japan is a major buyer of wild blueberries for processing and pharmaceutical use.
Market and Distribution of Blueberry

Nutritional Value of Blueberry

Nutritional Value of Blueberry
Some noteworthy regarding the nutrient compositions of the more commonly available blueberry products as follow:

• The raw fruit and the unsweetened frozen fruit supply moderate amounts of calories (about 60 kcal per 100 g) and carbohydrates (14 to 15%), They are good sources of fiber, iron and bioflavonoid (vitamin like substance with reputed beneficial effects when consumed along with vitamin C), and fair to good sources of potassium and vitamin C.
  
• Sweetened frozen blueberries contain nearly double the levels of calories and carbohydrates presents on the raw and the unsweetened frozen berries.
  
• Canned blueberries packed in water are low in calories and carbohydrates because they contain only about two thirds the levels of the nutrients that are supplied by the raw fruit.
  
• Canned blueberries packed in heavy syrup contain about two and one half times the calories and carbohydrates that are present in canned berries packed in water alone.
  
• Blueberry pie is rich in calories (242 kcal per 100 g) and carbohydrates (35%). It is a fair source of potassium and iron.
  
• Blueberry turnovers are very rich in calories (405 kcal per 100 g), carbohydrates (41 %) and fats (25 %). They are good sources of iron, but a poor source of potassium and vitamin C.
  
• Apple blueberry fruit puree (commonly sold as a baby food) supplies moderate amount of calories (68 kcal per 100 g) and carbohydrates (16%). It is a good source of vitamin C and a fair course of potassium.
  
• The color blueberries is due mainly to anthocynin pigments, which are also classified as bioflavonoid.
  

Nutritional Value of Blueberry

Taxonomy

Taxonomy
Blueberries are members of the Ericaceae (or heath) family, genus Vaccinium, subgenus Cyanococcus.

The genus is very diverse containing 150 to 450 species, mostly found in the tropics at high elevations but also in temperate and boreal regions.

Most species are shrubs similar to the blueberry but again a diverse range of growth forms, from epiphytes to trees, exists.

The Ericaceae family contains several important ornaments: rhododendrons and azaleas (Rhododendron), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), heather (Calluna), health (Erica) and leatherleaf (Leucothoe).

Other species of Vaccinium grown for fruit include the following:

• Cranberry (V. macrocarpon). The most economically important Vaccinium in the world, cranberry is grown primarily in the northeastern United States. The plant is a creeping rhizomatous, bog species that grows wild in swampy areas.
  
• Huckleberry (V. ovatum –evergreen; V. parvifolium – red; V. ovaliflium – tall mountain; V. deliciosum – low growing mountain). Prized as wildlife species, huckleberry plants provide an edible landscape element and are also used as ground covers. Huckleberry is also classified in the genus Gaylussacia.
  
• Lignonberry (V. vitis-idaea). A creeping evergreen from Northern Europe, this plant produces small, cranberry like fruits.
  
• Bilberry (V. myrtillus), A rhizomatous shrub native to Northern Europe, Russia, Scandinavia and the Pacific Northwest, this plant produces aromatic, purple berries that are collected from the wild and used in jellies, jams and wines.