Wild Blueberry Commission asks feds to buy surplus
PHOTO CREDIT / LORI VALIGRA
The oversupply of wild Maine blueberries has the Wild Blueberry Commission asking the USDA to purchase the surplus.
Due to an oversupply from the harvests of the past two years, the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine has asked the federal government to purchase 30 million pounds of the frozen berries.
Coming out in support of the blueberry commission’s request is Maine’s congressional delegation, which said near-record crop sizes in the 2014 and 2015 season have dropped the price of blueberries below the cost of production, according to the Bangor Daily News.
In their letter to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which has $222 million on hand for the purchase of surplus commodities, the congressional delegation touted the health benefits of the Maine staple as an antioxidant.
“The situation is not sustainable for Maine growers, and the purchase of 30 million pounds of Maine wild blueberries would help stabilize falling prices and farm income,” the letter signed by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree and Bruce Poliquin states.
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