India has overtaken China as the world’s most populous country, with nearly 1.45 billion inhabitants. This demographic factor, coupled with growing consumption of healthy foods, is driving increasing domestic demand for blueberries, which has led to productive investments in the country.
Simón Muñoz, international advisor on blueberry production at Consultora Agrícola y Comercial Santa María (CASM Blueberries), knows this reality firsthand. This week, he is visiting fields in the state of Maharashtra and in Bangalore, the capital of the state of Karnataka.
Based on his field observations, Muñoz noted that India has multiple agroclimatic zones with high productive potential. ‘In the north, in the Kashmir region, high-chill fruit crops such as apples and other pome fruits are being planted. There, the possibility of initiating trials with high-chill blueberry varieties is being evaluated,’ he said.
Meanwhile, the central and southern parts of the country have conditions comparable to regions such as Mexico or subtropical areas of Africa. “In these areas, varieties with low chilling requirements are showing very good results. Therefore, India has the capacity to produce blueberries 52 weeks a year,” he added.
Another key advantage is the size of the domestic market. “India has the largest population in the world, which translates into a huge base of potential consumers. All the productive growth that is taking place today is mainly geared toward meeting local demand,” Muñoz pointed out.
Producer or future exporter?
Although India’s blueberry imports are still low in volume, they have grown steadily in recent years. At the same time, local production is also increasing, although it still does not fully meet domestic demand.
“Demand is growing year after year, and local production cannot keep up, especially in the Mumbai market. It’s impressive: today, it’s not enough to supply a single city,” said the advisor.
According to Muñoz, “this scenario opens up great commercial opportunities, to the point that some international exporters are already sending fruit to the Indian market. The local market continues to grow, and I have no doubt that import volumes will increase in the near future.”
Agronomic challenges for blueberry development in India
One of the main challenges facing the country is the quality of water available for blueberry production, which, in Muñoz’s words, “is not the best, and added to that is the protection of varieties with royalties. Although it is not as pronounced a problem as in China, some cases of unauthorized use of varieties have been detected,” he explained.
Despite this, he highlighted the country’s agricultural potential as a very strong agricultural market, with multiple crops and large productive areas. “In the long term, it could become a major player in blueberry production,” he said.
India’s geographical location is another favorable factor. “We are very close to the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and relatively close to China. From a logistical point of view, the country has an interesting profile. However, local consumption will take time before giving way to an export profile,” he explained.
Muñoz emphasized that Indian companies and professionals are committed to raising their production standards. “They are looking to work with the best technology, the best varieties, and achieve high yields. There is access to key inputs, so the agronomic level could scale up quickly,” he said.
However, he identified significant challenges: “The main challenge lies in logistics and marketing. Today, there is no developed cold chain, and the roads have connectivity issues,” he concluded.
