Blue berry to take root in Punjab

Blue berry, adjudged the "fruit of the year" globally for the past five years, is all set to take root in Punjab, thanks to the vision of Gurjit Singh Purewal, a British Columbia based "Blue Berry Kind" who feels that the fruit could be a profitable alternative to the unviable wheat-paddy crop cycle, particularly for farmers of the Doaba region.

The vitamin-rich blue berry has been gaining in popularity, particularly in Japan. The fruit is said to be good for eyes and is also said to be a good appetiser. It is also said to have anti-cancerous properties. For its qualities, the fruit is abundantly used in ice-cream, jam and yoghurt across the world.

The Purewal brothers, Gurmit Singh, Malkit Singh and Charan Singh, who migrated to British Columbia in Canada in 1979 and started the cultivation of blue berry in partnership with Nihal Singh Brar in 1981, now own a 1,000-acre "Blue farm" at Pittmeadows in British Columbia.

Apart from this biggest blue berry farm in Canada, the Purewal brothers are also running a huge blue berry-processing unit.

According to Gurmit Singh Purewal, most of the processed fruit is exported to other countries, including Japan.

"Japan is the biggest importer of blue berry. Our share in the import is roughly about 10 per cent," said Gurjit, who hails from Purewal village near Nawanshahr and is currently in India to organise an annual mega-tournament in the memory of his father at his native village.