AS global blueberry production increases, quality will be the key to keep consumers eating.
That was one of the themes to emerge from the International Blueberry Organisation Summit held in Coffs Harbour in September.
More than 300 delegates from across the globe representing about 90 per cent of the world's blueberry production, attended the conference, the first time it has been held in Australia.
A panel session looked at the future of the global blueberry industry taking into consideration market trends, consumer demand and the role of new technology.
There was also discussion on the impacts of year-round fresh supply, now a real possibility with new varieties coming on line.
Ian Waller, Total Berry, UK said price positioning would be paramount as the world continues to get a taste for blueberries.
"We've heard a lot over the last few days that people perceive blueberries to be expensive in certain countries, and I think we need to get that perception away and talk more about the value in blueberries rather than the price," he said.
"And that can only be done by looking at the quality and maintaining the quality."
Director of blueberry product management for Naturipe Farms in America, Mario Flores said the industry should look at how bananas are presented.
"We need to be more like bananas. What I mean is being able to execute a fruit program where, when the consumer goes to the store, they can always find good quality berries, that they will enjoy and then have a repeat purchase again and again," Mr Flores said.
"Executing that program for a retailer and meeting the expectations of the consumers is going to be very important and the way to do that is with the role of new technologies that we are going to see.
"When I think about technologies, I think about genetics in that thought process."
Fellow American Kevin Murphy of global berry giant Driscoll’s, warned against solely targeting the premium buyer.
"We're going to have to find the right products at the right price and really create value so we can bring this product to a much broader group of people in the formats that they can use," Mr Murphy said.
"The people that are going to win are the ones who put really great quality out there.
"No longer will you be able to send an average blueberry into the market place because it had a window over the last five years- somebody else with a better quality will have filled that window and made it work."
Many are viewing Asia as growing market place but China itself is also ramping up production with the China Blueberry Association's Jerome Chen reporting that his home country is experiencing rapid growth.
He said he expects blueberry production to increase by 50 per cent in the next 10 years but imports to also increase.
Last year China opened its doors to Canadian blueberries. It's also widely known the country imports illegal product from Chile.