Canada is well known as an agricultural powerhouse, exporting various food products to more than 190 countries worldwide. But not often do we give our blueberry farmers the recognition they deserve; the sector is an essential part of our domestic agriculture industry, accounting for 57% of our nation’s fruit export value in 2023 [1].
Besides consistently ranking as our top fruit export, Canada remains the second-largest commercial blueberry producer globally [2]. From the misty mountain fields of British Columbia to the wild bushes of Nova Scotia, blueberries are grown all over the country and have become an inherent part of our agriculture-based identity in many ways.
If you’d like to learn more about blueberries in Canada, below we dive into several interesting facts and statistics about this critically important agriculture sector you may not know. Also see:
17 Facts on Canadian Blueberries
#1 - Canada was the third-largest producer of blueberries in the world in 2024, behind the U.S. (1) and Peru (2) [2]
#2 - With $630 million of blueberry exports in 2023, blueberries continue to be Canada’s top fruit export [1]
#3 - Canadian farmers harvested 180,117 metric tonnes of blueberries in 2022, with 61% of that crop being wild lowbush blueberries from Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia [1]
#4 - Canada’s top five highbush blueberry export markets include the U.S., Japan, and New Zealand [1]
#5 - Canada’s top five lowbush blueberry export markets include the United States, Japan, Germany, France, and the Netherlands [1]
#6 - The United States accounts for the vast majority of Canada’s blueberry exports every year [1]
#7 - Blueberries accounted for 57% of Canada’s total fruit export value in 2023 [1]
#8 - Canadian lowbush blueberries were grown on 63,155 hectares in 2023, accounting for 48.9% of Canada’s total fruit farming area [1]
#9 - Canadian highbush blueberries were grown on 11,800 hectares in 2023, accounting for 9.2% of Canada’s total fruit farming area [1]
#10 - Together, highbush and lowbush blueberries are grown on more than 75,000 hectares of farmland across the country [1]
#11 - Over the last five years, blueberry exports have grown by 14%, contributing to impressive growth in Canada’s fruit exports over the same timeframe [1]
#12 - Lowbush blueberries are native to Eastern and Atlantic Canada, with commercial production found solely in Quebec [1]
#13 - Quebec accounted for 42.3% of Canada’s lowbush blueberry production in 2023, with New Brunswick accounting for 25.4%, Nova Scotia 21.3% , and Prince Edward (10.8%) [1]
#14 - British Columbia accounts for nearly all of Canada’s highbush blueberry production, at 95% in 2023 [1]
#15 - More than 98% of Canada’s lowbush blueberry crop (wild) is processed or individually quick-frozen for sale on the retail market and to the wholesale market where fruit is used by hotels, restaurants, food processors, and institutions in a variety of different food products [1]
#16 - About 50% to 60% of Canada’s highbush blueberry crop (cultivated) is destined for frozen and processing markets, while 40% to 50% is sold fresh to consumers [1]
#17 – Canada is home to around a dozen different species of Vaccinium that could be classified as blueberries [3]
Blueberry Species in Canada
Wild blueberry species (including blue- and black-fruited bilberries and huckleberries) native to Canada include [3]:
|
Common Name |
Scientific Name |
Range |
|
Low sweet blueberry or early lowbush blueberry |
Vaccinium angustifolium |
Eastern North America |
|
Northern blueberry |
Vaccinium boreale |
Northeastern United States, Quebec, Atlantic Provinces |
|
Dwarf blueberry |
Vaccinium caespitosum |
North America, Mexico, Guatemala |
|
Highbush blueberry |
Vaccinium corymbosum |
Eastern and Northwestern North America |
|
Blue-leaved huckleberry |
Vaccinium deliciosum |
Western North America |
|
Black huckleberry |
Vaccinium membranaceum |
Western North America, the Great Lakes |
|
Velvet-leaf blueberry, Canadian blueberry or sour-top |
Vaccinium myrtilloides |
Northeastern and Northern North America |
|
Low bilberry |
Vaccinium myrtillus |
Western North America, Europe, Japan, Northern Asia |
|
Oval-leaved blueberry |
Vaccinium ovalifolium (including Vaccinium alaskaense) |
Northeastern and Northwestern North America, Kamchatka Peninsula, Japan |
|
Evergreen huckleberry |
Vaccinium ovatum |
Coastal Western North America |
|
Hillside blueberry or dryland blueberry |
Vaccinium pallidum |
Eastern United States, Southern Ontario |
|
Bog blueberry |
Vaccinium uliginosum |
Northern North America, Greenland, Eurasia |
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Canada’s blueberry farmers help put food on the table for thousands of families worldwide, something all Canadians should support.
Join us today to learn more about Canada’s world-class natural resource industries and the hard-working families that make these key economic sectors possible.
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— Canada Action (@CanadaAction) December 13, 2024
SOURCES:
1 - https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/sector/horticulture/reports/statistical-overview-canadian-fruit-industry-2023
2 - https://worldostats.com/blueberry-production-by-country-2024/
3 – https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/blueberry