IBA History
All over the world, professionals with a strong passion for blackcurrants grow this superfruit. But many other people ignore most of it… In fact, blackcurrant growing is uncomparable with the cultivation of major crop like wheat or other fruit like apples or oranges. Being a minor crop, blackcurrants receive much less support in research in any kind of field than other fruits or vegetables. Still, blackcurrant growing requires a certain knowledge, and farmers are keen to share this knowledge among each other – this is what the IBA is there for!
Creation of the IBA
The creation of the IBA is a story of passionate people worldwide, who have decided to gather together and to ally their forces. They have a common goal: spreading the knowledge about blackcurrants.
A bi-annual European Blackcurrant Conference has been part of the blackcurrant industry since 1995. Considering the huge success of these conferences, growers from the United States and New Zealand were keen to join the common European effort. They wanted to become a part of the blackcurrant community and help to construct the remarkable history of the blackcurrant.
As a consequence, the International Blackcurrant Association (IBA) was formed in 2008 in Christchurch, New Zealand.
IBA today
As at 2019, the International Blackcurrant Association (IBA) receives its fund mainly from the blackcurrant associations of the following countries:
First of all, this core group is assisting other growers in other countries to form their own associations and become part of the IBA.
Latest Changes
For administrative reasons, we have found it necessary to make a change. In fact, establishing the IBA headquarters in New Zealand was our choice in 2008, when we created the association. Our New Zealand grower association was very much involved in the creation of the International Blackcurrant Association. The first president, general manager and treasurer were New Zealander. All of them contributed a lot to the succes and attraction of the IBA.
Today, it appears that having a headquarter in Europe seems more in line with the strategic choices of the IBA Executive. In a common agreement between all our members, we therefore decided to transfer the International Blackcurrant Association to France.
Our vision
All our member countries and individual members pursue a common aim. Our objective is to increase collaboration and exchange information between blackcurrant growers, blackcurrant processors, secondary industry involved in blackcurrant growing, and of course press. As a result, the quality of the blackcurrants in the market shall improve. People shall receive more and better information about blackcurrants.
But above all, all players work together in order to increase the global blackcurrant consumption with regard to the wonderful health benefits of our superfruit.