Photo: 123RF / 2019 Robyn Mackenzie
If you are wondering which berry should go atop your pavlova this Christmas, look no further than the 2024 Fruit of the Year - blueberries.
Minister of Fruit and Veggies Glenn Forsyth saved his best report for last, and explained to First Up why you cannot go wrong with the "superfood".
"This information comes from a very experienced blueberries farmer Narandra Patel, from very humble beginnings in New Zealand.
"They are a staple weekly buy, fresh or frozen, highly convenient, no peeling required. They contain powerful anti-oxidants with proven health benefits."
Patel works for New Zealand Gourmet, which are a large employer of many families in Hastings that work in horticulture. By early 2000, he decided to invest into its own production farms to fully capture the export potential it helped to create.
They produce over half of the New Zealand fresh crop and high degree of innovation and gourmet blueberries is evident at many levels, including some fully auto retractable roof greenhouses, Forsyth said.
Competition for the top honour was fierce this year, with blueberries beating out cherries for the title.
Forsyth said blueberries were introduced to New Zealand in the 1940s as a crop to grow in the Waikato, but it was not until the 1980s, that the industry here got going as a fresh export crop airfreighted to North America.
"There was this misconception that blueberries had to be cooked as a pie or a jam, yet North American native Indians had been consuming them fresh and drying them from the forest for thousands of years along side bears that were preparing for their winter hibernation," he said.
Forsyth said blueberries are at a great buy at the moment, but do not worry if you missed out, as previously only a summer crop, they now grow for 10 months of the year.
Meanwhile, other fruits like bananas, which was last year's winner, peaches, plums and nectarines are all in demand but in good stock at the moment.
In terms of vegetables, potatoes were the most purchased in the of Christmas, while tomatoes remain strong, as do bag salads and slaw.
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