The cool weather delayed the harvest in spring – and prices rose sharply in some cases. From the farmers’ point of view, the demand for strawberries and asparagus left a lot to be desired.
The strawberry and asparagus harvest in Germany in 2023 is expected to be worse than it has been for many years. According to initial estimates, farms are expecting strawberries to be around 84,700 tons, the lowest harvest quantity outdoors since 1998, as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Thursday.
The asparagus harvest is estimated at 105,700 tons, which would be the lowest harvest since 2013. The Wiesbaden statisticians cite falling demand in view of the general increase in prices and the cool weather in spring as reasons for the development, which is why the harvest sometimes began later than usual .
According to the provisional figures, the volume of strawberries would be 14 percent below the already relatively poor harvest year 2022 with 98,500 tons. According to the Federal Office, between 2017 and 2022 an average of almost a quarter more red fruit was picked in fields in Germany than this year. However, in 2023, given the relatively cost-intensive domestic production, the farms also reduced the acreage for outdoor strawberries by seven percent compared to the previous year to around 9,200 hectares. This is also the lowest value since 1998.
The area under cultivation for asparagus was also reduced – by four percent compared to the previous year to 20,500 hectares. The expected harvest volume of the noble vegetable in the current year is 4 percent below the value of 2022 and 15 percent below the average of 2017 to 2022 of 123,600 tons.
Source: Stern
