July 1 is celebrated in Poland as the Fruit Day and the Polish Blueberry Day. On this occasion, Polish growers have organized special presentations and tastings. This year's first blueberries, black and red currants, preserves and juices from the honeyberry, chokeberry and MiniKiwi reigned supreme. Strawberry and raspberry ice cream. The symbol of the holiday is now a daily cup of seasonal super fruits promoted in Poland.
The Polish Super Fruits are blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants, chokeberries, MiniKiwis, honeyberries. They are a national treasure. The redder they are, the better protection they offer from the adverse impact of the environment. Let us seize the opportunity, let us eat them. “We should consume them every day",
says Prof. Dorota Konopacka, Director of the Research Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice.
We are building a habit of eating a cup of super fruits every day as well as what we refer to as the ‘blueberry relay’, a cross–supplier offer to make it possible to enjoy the wealth of seasonal fruit for more than half a year, from May to October,
says Witold Boguta, president of the board of the national union of fruit and vegetable producer groups.
The Polish Blueberry Day
We are very happy to have been able to open the 2019 season. Krzyś is a natural-born farmer and he will be very proud of it in a few years. Today has been a big experience for us. Both my husband and I come from farms handed down from generation to generation. We met in Warsaw while studying at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences (SGGW). My husband was a trainee at the Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice. That is how our fascination with blueberries began,
says Agnieszka Kramarz, the mother of Krzyś, who opened the 2019 blueberry season.
The blueberry grown in Poland is exported to over 30 countries on 4 continents. For years, over 80% of its production has been exported,
says Dominika Kozarzewska, member of the board of the foundation for the promotion of Polish blueberries.
Source: National Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producer Groups
The study was funded by the Fruit and Vegetable Promotion Fund as part of the campaign Time for Polish Superfruits! run by the National Union of Fruit and Vegetable Producer Groups. The idea to hold the Championship originated in 2018, as part of the Summer with Blueberries campaign.
dr Piotr Baryła
Prezes at Polskie Stowarzyszenie Plantatorów Porzeczek