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BULLETINS
& ARTICLES
Raspberry Developments
in the USA and Europe
Fresh Raspberry
production and Marketing in the USA and Europe
Article written by Harvey K Hall
and Jill Stanley, Hort Research, Nelson Region
Article reproduced with permission
of David Peterson and Peter Cooper, Vegfed NZ
There have been substantial changes in the growing
and marketing of raspberries in the USA and Europe which we have observed
as we have travelled through both regions during the past ten years.
Emphasis on high quality fruit with a longer shelf life has increased and
supermarkets have shown an increasing dominance in sales of fresh raspberries.
Supermarkets themselves have become keen to simplify the products handled
and have demanded a year round supply of berries to warrant allocating
shelf space. This pressure has led to changes in production systems,
including protected cultivation, ‘long cane’ production in warmer regions
to supply out-of-season fruit and an increased focus on a few high quality
cultivars.
PRODUCTION
Supply of raspberries in the UK for a greater portion
of the year has been achieved by the introduction of earlier and later
fruiting floricane cultivars (fruiting on the previous year’s cane growth),
by the introduction of primocane fruiting types (fruiting on the current
year’s cane growth), by adopting new growing practices, particularly ‘long
cane’ production and protection cultivation, and by sourcing raspberries
from Southern Europe.
Fig 1. Tulameen raspberry production
in Haygrove tunnels in Herefordshire, UK
 Fig
2. Tulameen raspberries grown in the UK using "long canes" to extend the
season. Plants were covered prior to harvest.
For some time in the UK, ‘Glen Moy’ dominated the
early season market, ‘Malling Leo’ was accepted for late season sales and
‘Autumn Bliss’ for its primocane crop. More recently the high quality
cultivars ‘Tulameen’ and ‘Glen Ample’ have gained prominence in the market
place and there has been increased resistance to other inferior quality
cultivars by the supermarkets. In some cases the supermarket chains
have black-listed a cultivar without consultation with the industry, leaving
growers with unsold production and nurseries with large amounts of unsold
stock.
The demand for quality and continuity of supply
from supermarkets has also put pressure on growers to maintain production
of high quality fruit throughout their production season, a challenge exacerbated
by the UK weather. To combat inclement weather, large proportion
of fresh market production has been established in glasshouses or plastic
tunnels, and these have also been used to achieve an earlier harvest season
foe floricane varieties (Fig. 1) or later harvest season for primocane
fruiting types.
Further innovation was also introduced when floricane
raspberry ‘long canes’ were dug from high chill nurseries and transported
to the low chill regions of Southern Spain and Portugal for planting and
fruit production. There they are grown in tunnels for out-of-season
production, starting soon after the middle of the Northern winter in January
or February. Some growers in Spain have also begun to dig their own
long canes and use cool stores to give artificial chill for 6-10 weeks
(2-4?C) followed by months of cold storage (-0.5 to –1.5?C) before replanting
to produce another crop. Primocane fruiting types in these regions
also are manipulated to produce out-of-season crops by cutting down canes
in mid summer and allowing the new growth to fruit in tunnels in November
and December. ‘Long canes’ are also grown in the UK to extend the
season of high quality cultivars like Tulameen and supermarkets prefer
the quality of this fruit to that from the existing primocane cultivars
(Fig.2).
In the USA, Sweetbriar/Driscoll’s initiated production
in Spanish tunnels in Southern California to extend the season (Fig.3).
This was so successful that it has also been adopted in Northern California
and other locations to ensure reliability of supply and quality in spite
of inclement weather conditions.
Fig 3.
Production for Driscoll’s was initially based
in the Watsonville and Oxnard regions of California, with the patented
variety’ ‘Sweetbriar’. Since the patent on ‘Sweetbriar’ has expired
it has been replaced by a range of cultivars with floracane and primocane
production. As the market has expanded, supermarkets chains have
demanded year round supply and this has been achieved using covered production
and fruit sourced from Mexico and further afield.
PACKAGING AND PRESENTATION
In the USA, packaging in the 1980’s still used
punnets with wooden or recycled paper construction. Fruit was packed
up to 10cm deep and perhaps covered with cellophane or plastic wrap, giving
a shelf life of 1-2 days. Cool storage at the point of sale was seen
only rarely and punnets could only be presented in a single layer stack.
Since this time the demand for better presentation
has increased, as well as improved quality. Punnets or pint boxes
have been replaced by clamshells or more recently by plastic punnets with
tamper proof sealed plastic tops and differentially permeable windows to
affect modified atmosphere storage (Fig. 5.). Quality of fruit has
been improved by the use of new varieties and also by developing flatter,
shallower containers for the fruit, or even by a shallow fill practice
in some markets so that fruit are not squashed in the bottom of the containers.
PERMEABLE WINDOW STRIP
At present, freshly harvested berryfruit are quickly
cooled after harvest and fruit remain cool through distribution to the
market and point of sale. Sealed punnets or clamshells can be stacked
for efficient use of shelf space and fruit are clearly visible inside,
from the bottom or the top.
The use of newer packaging has also been accompanied
by the development of high quality printed labels that often include the
variety name and glossy printed identification of the marketer or, more
and more often, the retailer’s own brand label (Figure 6).
MARKETING
In the USA the market has become dominated by production
from Sweetbriar-Driscoll’s, now supplying up to 80% of the fresh market
sales. Their varieties have become the standard by which raspberries
are recognized in the USA market. Particular qualities of these varieties
are light coloured fruit that have good handling ability and good shelf
life.
The trend towards supermarkets receiving a higher
market share of fresh produce sales and sales of other goods has also been
occurring in the UK and Europe, where superstores (large supermarkets)
are replacing the traditional small specialty stores. Supermarkets
also are handling a wider range of products and are becoming a ‘one stop
shop’ for life. For example in England you can purchase clothing,
hardware, groceries, fresh produce, including high quality berryfruit in
the store and fill the car with fuel at the supermarket filling station.
It may also be possible to get a voucher to buy a cheap mobile phone or
receive reduced priced petrol in the store if you spend over £50
on groceries. Supermarkets want to allocate shelf space to a product
for year round sales and are demanding a continuous supply of high quality
berryfruit from their suppliers.
Supermarket pressure for quality and simplicity
has also put pressure on key wholesalers of berryfruit to increase the
quality of fruit provided, increasing production or assimilating smaller
players in the industry. There is also a trend for marketers to manage
the berryfruit commodity lines for supermarket chains, ensuring quality
and continuity of supply.
The marketing and production changes in the UK
have had a considerable effect on the European market and suppliers for
the UK are expanding to supply continental Europe, as well as spawning
similar operations in Belgium, France, Italy and the Netherlands.
February 2004
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