The International Blueberry Organization reports the global blueberry crop hit approximately 2.33 million tons in 2025, up 11.2% year over year, with fresh and processed volumes on track to exceed 3.36 million tons by 2029. Global acreage reached 303,076 hectares in 2025 — more than double the roughly 143,000 hectares recorded in 2016 — and around 45,000 hectares of planted area hasn't even entered production yet.

Peru alone recorded an estimated 407,800-ton crop in 2025/26 and is projected to approach 604,000 tons by 2029, though the IBO flags El Niño risk as a reason to assume flat growth in 2026/27. China's crop hit 753,000 tons in 2025 and could exceed 1.2 million tons by 2029. Quality segmentation is increasingly critical: IBO data found the lowest weekly price for standard fruit ran 42% below premium-variety pricing across a 104-week period.

For buyers already navigating a tightening blueberry window this season, this data is the longer-term context. Volume growth is structural, but so is the premium-versus-standard price gap — worth monitoring as suppliers lean harder into variety differentiation to protect margins.

The effort to secure a two-year pause on California's SB 54 packaging requirements has officially failed. Despite building a bipartisan coalition with support from legislators, labor organizations, and food producers, the bill couldn't advance after key legislative leaders withheld approval. The compliance clock is now ticking for growers, packers, and shippers.

SB 54 mandates significant changes to how produce is packaged and sold in California, affecting a broad swath of the fresh produce supply chain. The state's speaker plans to convene a working group this fall to examine costs, fees, and timelines, with potential legislation to address concerns expected in January 2027. Western Growers says it will be part of that working group.

For category managers and buyers sourcing California product, packaging compliance costs are now a real near-term variable. Watch for updates from the fall working group process, which could still produce meaningful changes — just not on the timeline industry had hoped for.

British Columbia's apple sector has contracted sharply over the past two decades, with the Okanagan now producing approximately 2.5 million boxes annually compared with roughly 170 million boxes from Washington state. Canadian retailers benchmark pricing against imported U.S. fruit, and varieties like Cosmic Crisp, Envy, and Jazz aren't even available from BC suppliers, which limits local growers' ability to compete in premium segments.

The structural decline reflects years of compounding pressure: the collapse of the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative in July 2024 eliminated the packing and marketing infrastructure that served roughly half of Okanagan growers, while weather events, drought, smoke, wildfires, and an overcrop in recent seasons have added further stress. Some growers have shifted to cherries and wine grapes, with sweet-cherry acreage roughly doubling between 2011 and 2021. Growers note that apples retailing at C$4.99/lb can return as little as C$0.30/lb at the farm level.

This is a long-term supply story for Canadian retail buyers: the domestic BC apple base is shrinking, and sourcing dependency on Washington and other U.S. origins is deepening at the same time that cross-border trade costs are rising.

California Citrus Mutual is formally asking the U.S. Trade Representative to impose a tariff-rate quota (TRQ) on Argentine lemon imports. The request comes because Argentina shipped roughly 94,000 metric tons of lemons into the U.S. in 2024, overlapping with the domestic California harvest window — a timing problem that has particularly squeezed growers in Ventura County.

Under the proposed TRQ, a set volume of Argentine lemons would enter at the standard tariff rate, with anything above that threshold subject to a higher duty. The group's director of governmental affairs framed it as a basic fairness issue: domestic and imported supply are competing head-to-head during the same marketing window, and growers say the current setup isn't working. The California citrus sector is also watching the state's governor's race closely, with the next administration expected to appoint key agriculture and water officials.

Watch for how USTR responds and whether this request gains traction alongside the broader tariff policy conversations already reshaping produce trade flows. For buyers and category managers sourcing lemons, any shift in TRQ policy could affect landed cost and seasonal availability calculations in the months ahead.

Loblaw Companies is pushing its 2026 capital investment into high gear, deploying approximately $1.2 billion in the second half of the year as part of its full-year $2.4 billion program. The company now expects to open around 75 new locations in 2026, up from 70 planned at the start of the year, with expansion focused heavily on its No Frills and Maxi hard-discount banners.

The move reflects a clear read on Canadian consumer behavior: more shoppers are choosing discount formats to manage household budgets, and Loblaw is following the demand signal with capital. Double-digit same-store sales growth in newly opened locations is giving the company confidence to accelerate. The investment also comes amid the Canada-U.S. trade dispute and a broader "buy Canadian" push by major grocers.

For produce suppliers serving Canadian retail, Loblaw's hard-discount build-out matters — No Frills and Maxi prioritize value and efficiency, which shapes what produce gets ranged, how it's merchandised, and what price points suppliers need to hit to stay on shelf.

IQF sweet corn pricing in the U.S. is holding steady following supply disruptions caused by freeze damage in Florida earlier in 2026. White sweet corn in particular is scarce and difficult to source, resulting in reduced market activity and making price discovery more challenging.

The Florida freeze hit one of the country's primary sweet corn production zones during a critical window, and the effects are still rippling through the IQF segment months later. Limited availability is keeping prices elevated for white corn specifically, while yellow corn supply is comparatively more accessible.

For foodservice buyers and category managers with white sweet corn specs, this is worth flagging now — availability constraints appear likely to persist at least through the near term as the market waits for new-crop supply to compensate for the earlier losses.