The Export Playbook: Strategic Demand Creation With Haiying Zhang

In this episode of “The Business of Blueberries,” Kasey Cronquist, president of the U.S. Highbush Council (USHBC) and the North American Blueberry Council (NABC), is joined by Haiying Zhang, USHBC’s director of global business development. Zhang has spent the last several years helping position U.S. blueberries for growth far beyond our domestic market by building relationships and helping exporters better understand where global demand is expanding. Zhang shares what she’s seeing firsthand in the global market, and where the greatest opportunities for growth lie.“As a result, what you are seeing in these markets is a lot of media coverage about USA Blueberries. So we successfully generate the buzz about our product. That's our goal. And in many of these markets, if you look at the product life cycle, we are still at the introductory stage … meaning we have a long runway to go. And so it's very important that we build, reach new customers and we also inspire existing customers to increase their purchasing frequency, and that's why we invest the dollars .” – Haiying Zhang Topics covered include: An introduction to Zhang and her work with USHBC. The significance and impact of the USHBC recently earning a $1 million Foreign Agriculture Service Grant from the USDA.Details on the USHBC Export Database and the USHBC Supplier Database that can help highlight blueberry operations during global market discussions.Crop ReportThe Blueberry Crop Report is an update on crop conditions and markets throughout important blueberry growing areas. Today you’ll hear from Alan Schreiber in Washington, TJ Hafner in Oregon, Alec Arena in New Jersey, Ryan Rainey in Michigan, Derrin Wheeler in Georgia, Pat Goin in Indiana, Sunny Brar in British Columbia and Kristen Brinkley in North Carolina. This was recorded on June 11, 2026.