Publication date: Mon, 26 Aug 2019

This season’s bumper blueberry harvest is now rolling onto Australian retail shelves. Ideal growing conditions in key regions this year have led to an abundance of fresh blueberries landing in stores this month. A severe frost wiped out many of the 2018 season’s crops, but Berries Australia claims this year to be one of the best growing seasons on record.

The crop is expected to reach about 4.8 million punnets of blueberries, weighing more than 600 tonnes.

Berries Australia executive director, Rachel Mackenzie, said excellent weather conditions in Australian growing regions had nudged up the crop: “Warm, dry sunny days and cool nights for our growers mean that the consumer will be spoilt for choice in relation to finding great value blueberries over the next few weeks. This year’s crop conditions have been more than ideal in growing the freshest and highest quality blueberries just in time for the warmer weather to hit.”

Northqueenslandregister.com.au also quoted her as saying: “We are very lucky here in Australia to have an excellent climate to grow all types of berries. When the weather is kind to us like it has been this growing season, it is the perfect time of year for Australian blueberries to flourish to their full potential. This really makes for the freshest and most delicious blueberries for shoppers.”

Apart from being high in antioxidants, recent studies suggest one serving of fresh blueberries every day may help contribute to normal blood pressure levels and help improve memory recall in children.