The Country That Produces The Most Blueberries In The World Isn't The US

The United States is a massive blueberry producer. According to the USDA, the U.S. produced nearly 790 million pounds of the fruit in 2024, with Washington producing the most, though Hammonton, New Jersey remains the country's blueberry capital. The USA's blueberry industry stands at around $1.15 billion, but back in 2021, another country edged out the U.S. for the top spot in blueberry production: China.

In 2025, China produced a whopping 2.1 billion pounds of blueberries (via Blueberries Consulting) — more than double U.S. production, though the U.S. comes second behind China in total blueberry production. Over the last decade, China has seriously ramped up its growth of these berries, having farmed 36,000 hectares (about 139 square miles) of them in 2017 with a steady year-over-year increase up to 69,000 hectares (266 square miles) by 2021 (via USDA Foreign Agricultural Service). Blueberries are grown in 26 of China's 34 provinces, with the Yunnan province cultivating the majority of them — around 23,000 hectares are planted there. China mostly exports its blueberry supply to Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Russia. Despite growing so many blueberries, China still imports blueberries (likely outside the growing season) from Peru and Chile.

The Yunnan province, specifically, offers ideal conditions for growing blueberries. Yunnan, located on the southwestern edge of China, has mountainous areas with higher altitudes than many other provinces. The region also sees plenty of sunlight each day because of where it's situated, and the temperatures can vary pretty substantially between day and night. All of these conditions favor blueberry farming.

The United States is a big blueberry competitor for China due to the berries having similar seasons in both locations; since the Southern Hemisphere grows at a different time, places like Peru and Chile aren't generally seen as competition. However, China started importing U.S. blueberries in 2020, and they sell quickly because of their high quality and larger size. In general, you'll find U.S. grocery stores selling blueberries grown here during our peak season (usually falling in the summer months) and supplementing with berries imported from South America in the off months rather than China.