A recent Rutgers University study examines the factors that contribute to the price of fresh cultivated blueberries in the United States during the 2015-2020 period. It focuses on price because, despite an increase in import volume, the domestic industry has nonetheless increased its production and sales volumes during the period. There is an analysis of the relationship between the domestic industry’s health – for which price is a key factor – and the volume of blueberries, including both domestic and imported product.
Several key characteristics of the U.S. fresh blueberry market influence the empirical analysis. Through an econometric model the study takes into account variation in supply volume by source, seasonality in production, variations in yield and acreage planted across states and countries. The estimates demonstrate that the change in domestic competition is the single largest factor affecting domestic prices over the period.
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