Severe weather causes NC blueberry shortage, drives up cost

"I think we still have half a crop in that southeastern North Carolina region," said North Carolina State University blueberry specialist Bill Cline. A half crop in the southeast region is a big hit to the state’s overall supply.

North Carolina produces an average of 40 to 50 million pounds of blueberries a year. Half of that production comes from Bladen County where growers suffered a rare 1-2 punch!

First, they faced a severe early freeze. "We also had a really severe hail event," said Cline. In early May, hail storms hit several southeastern counties including Bladen.

He said it was a critical time for the plants. "So some really large blueberry farms took a tremendous hit there on May the 7th. And it was what we hope was a once in a lifetime hail," said Cline.

He says the economic impact on growers was significant. The domino effect to consumers is higher prices.

One shopper at the State Farmers’ Market says she actually found blueberries to be a bargain. She said, "Actually, in the grocery store I’ve noticed they are a lot more but these, the prices here are pretty good."

Some popular varieties of blueberries were developed and released from NC State University’s research farm with funding from the North Carolina Blueberry Council. Look for varieties like "Premier" and "Powder Blue".