Demand for Wild Blueberries at Farm and Processor Levels

Thepurposeofthis studyis to understandthe recenttrendsin demandforwildblueberrieswithparticularat-tentionto the effectsof productionandthe marketingof wild andcultivatedblueberries.A priceresponse modelwas developedto analyzefro-gate priceandthe processorprice,using annualdatafrom 1978through 1997.Key explanatoryvariablesin the modelincludequantityof wildblueberries,realper capitadisposable income,the quantityof processedcultivatedblueberries,andcarry-overstocksof frozenblueberries. Background The world’s w-da or lowb ~ blueberry pro-duction is confined to the northeastern United States and eastern Canada- It has increased considerably in recent years, from about 42 million pounds in 1978 to a record high of 138 million pounds in 1997 (Fig-ure 1). The state of Maine produces about one-half of the wild blueberry crop, and Nova Scotia and Quebec are the leading producers among the eastern Canadian provinces, accounting for 81 percent of Canadian wild bluebeny production in 1997 (Agri-culture & Agri-Food C- 1999). The fluctuation of price paid to wild blue-berry growers in Maine, Nova ScotiZ and Que-bec is depicte