In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” host Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by David Magaña, VP and senior analyst at RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness. Magaña is responsible for covering and analyzing the U.S. and North American fresh fruit and vegetable industries for RaboBank, and his insights are deeply relevant to anyone in the ag industry. At the recent Blueberry Convention in San Diego, he talked about macro trends impacting the blueberry industry.

“The inflation that we've been facing lately is the result of the collision of two massive forces. On the one side, we see an increase in demand for food and for different types of food. … And on the other hand, we see on the supply side some of the challenges that have been for years, such as labor constraints, and some new ones that have come to become a true challenge over the past few years, such as logistical challenges.” - David Magaña

 Topics covered include: 

• An introduction to Magaña and his work for RaboResearch Food & Agribusiness.
• An exploration of macro economic trends, universal inflation and global influences on the blueberry industry. 
• Future projections and expectations for the blueberry industry. 

Crop Report

The Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Luis Vegas in Peru, Andres Armstrong in Chile, and Mario Ramirez in Mexico. This was recorded on March 15, 2023.