PORTLAND – Maine’s 2007 blueberry harvest came in at 3 percent above the 2006 crop and is expected to have a record value based on preliminary numbers.

Wild blueberry growers last summer harvested 76.9 million pounds worth an estimated $71.5 million, the New England office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Friday.

The crop is the fourth-largest on record and state’s biggest since growers harvested 80.4 million pounds in 2003. The preliminary value is 20 percent higher than 2006 and nearly double the 2005 value of $38.9 million.

Maine, with its 60,000 acres of blueberry fields, is the nation’s only producer of wild blueberries. Blueberries are the state’s second most-valuable crop, behind potatoes.

Less than 1 percent of the state’s harvest is sold fresh. The rest makes its way to consumers in muffin mixes, yogurts, juices, cereals, preserves and other products.

Blueberries used for processing sold for 93.5 cents a pound on average in 2007, according to the agency. That’s up from 80 cents a pound in 2006 and 65 cents a pound in 2005.

Fresh blueberries sold for an average of $1.75 a pound, up from $1.70 a year earlier.

Maine’s wild blueberry crop benefited from a lack of disease and insect problems while enjoying a healthy bloom last June with good pollinating conditions, according to NASS. The harvest was over by early September and the crop condition ranged from good to fair across the state.

Meanwhile, Maine’s 2007 cranberry crop was valued at just over $1 million, according to NASS. Growers harvested 12,450 barrels of berries grown on 215 acres.