Walmart's volatile blueberry market not typical for U.S. market
As the U.S. blueberry season approaches, blueberries at Walmart saw a steep drop in price in late April after a steep jump in mid-March. A similar pattern occurred in 2021 and 2020, but this year the price spike and drop were more dramatic. Though there has historically been a price fall at this time of year, the high prices for 2021 and 2022 show an increase of 16% from one year to the next, according to data from Datasembly.
Walmart prices are shown for blueberries per 18 ounces.
- May 1, 2022: $5.40
- April 10, 2022: $7.03
- March 20, 2022: $6.04
- 23% drop from April 10 to May 1, 2022
- May 2, 2021: $5.67
- April 11, 2021: $5.91
- March 21, 2022: $5.86
- 4% drop from April 11 to May 2, 2021
- May 3, 2020: $4.73
- April 12, 2020: $5.10
- March 22, 2020: $5.68
- 6% drop from April 12 to May 3, 2020
Prices up across the country
“It is common to see fluctuation in blueberry prices within and between individual retailers, usually driven by temporary promotional price reductions,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council and the North American Blueberry Council, said.
Looking at prices on a broader scale, we see a different trend in the retail channel nationally compared to the Walmart price drop.
According to Nielsen retail sales data, price per pound of fresh conventional blueberries increased steeply, up 23.4%, from March to April 2022, Cronquist said.
“The increase was accelerated by the much higher than usual rate of inflation,” Cronquist added. “Last year, prices for the fresh conventional segment experienced a smaller, but still substantial percent increase, up 13.1% from 2020.”
Looking at sales during the month of April, there have been price increases year-to-year. The price per pound of fresh conventional blueberries was up +6.7% in April 2022 compared to April 2021. This increase in price per pound is fairly consistent with changes seen the previous year; up 9.4% in April 2021 compared to April 2020, according to Nielsen’s.
Read more about the 2022 blueberry and strawberry seasons.
