Wild blueberries juice up Canada's exports

Peter J Rideout (left), the executive director of the Wild Blueberry Producers Association of Nova Scotia, and Neri Vautour, the executive director of the Wild Blueberry Association of North America- Canada, show the wild blueberries picked up from the test land of the Wild Blueberry Research Centre at Dalhousie University in Debert, Nova Scotia. NA LI / CHINA DAILY

An increasing number of wild blueberry companies in Canada are looking to expand trade and enhance investment overseas.

David Hoffman, co-CEO of Bragg Group, an international wild blueberry company, said it had been selling around the world for many years, and more of the exports have gone to China lately.

"Chinese middle class consumers are looking for new, healthy, imported food like wild blueberries," said Hoffman. "One of the things that we pride ourselves on is the quality of our products, in whatever traditional Chinese dish that they want."

Hoffman noted that governments on both sides play a big role in their success.

About 20 years ago, a Chinese business group visited Oxford. After the meeting, Oxford started to follow up with municipal government officials and recognised that it is important to have good government-to-government relations when it comes to doing business with China.

Now there is a trade association of growers and processors of wild blueberries from Maine and Canada - the Wild Blueberry Association of North America (WBANA), which helps promote the crop to the global market.

"Our association offers information and education on wild blueberries, helps the industry promote wild blueberry products in the world. Our agent in China works for customers by explaining the health benefits and unique difference between normal blueberries and wild blueberries," said Neri Vautour, executive director of WBANA Canada, which represents major exporters and more than 4,000 growers in Atlantic Canada and Quebec.

The association also works and cooperates with regional politicians and trade missions to China and invites Chinese groups to visit Canada to grow more business.

According to Neri, the current Federal government in Canada has been actively pursuing a pro-China trade policy, which has significantly improved relations between the two countries and boosted the industry's business prospects in China.

"While we feel positive about this, our next objective is to remove trade barriers between the two countries. Right now, there is a 47 percent tax on our products going to China overall."

He suggested both sides get together and discuss the issue and resolve the matter, as the producers want to see tariffs reduced and have greater access to the Chinese market.

In Quebec City, Alan Boivin, the vice-president of the Syndicate Producers Blueberry Quebec (SPBQ) - a union with a membership of more than 400 Quebec-based growers, also said that the province has done well as demand has risen from China.

"More growers got involved in this great potential market, now Quebec producers are working with WBANA to get the produce to China, just like other competitors," Boivin said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, during his first official visit to China in August 2016, stressed the importance of agricultural products such as blueberries to Canada's economy.

Jus Nova - a Halifax based distributor, has benefited from the Canada-China trade link.

Selling Nova Scotia lobsters to China for a long time, Jus Nova began looking for other products to plug into its distribution chain and started selling wild blueberry products to China three years ago.

Kong Weiyu, a descendant of Confucius and a director of Jus Nova Agriculture Ltd, approached a 40-year old family business with a deal to market and distribute the company's blueberry juice under the Jus Nova banner.

"No doubt China is the biggest-growing market in the world," said Kong. "Chinese customers are very smart, and we get a lot of inquiry about the product."

Early next month, Keith Colwell, Nova Scotia's minister of agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture, will lead a trade mission to China, where he look to promote the provinces blueberries and build a long-term relationship with suppliers and customers.

Kong, a member of that delegation, is optimistic: "This time we will visit some major distributors in China. We are looking for further partnership with our current clients; hopefully we can increase our sales, and Chinese consumers will like our new products," Kong said.

In 2016, Nova Scotia produced and exported $490.9 million worth of goods to China.