Fruit farmers in Germany will harvest fewer apples this year than they have in years. The fact that the total quantity has not decreased even further is mainly due to one growing region.
This year’s apple harvest in Germany will be the lowest in seven years. Fruit growers are expecting a far below-average amount of 734,000 tonnes, according to an estimate from July by the Federal Statistical Office. That would be around 22 percent less than last year and 26.3 percent below the average for the past ten years.
Especially in the south-eastern states such as Thuringia and Saxony, late frosts caused the blossoms to freeze and the trees to produce only poor fruit, reports the statistics office. Hailstorms also occurred. Heavy rainfall and the often damp, cool weather hampered the development of the fruit over the rest of the year. Harvest losses amounted to up to 90 percent.
Due to crop failures in the east, three quarters of the German apple harvest this year is expected to come from the large growing areas in Baden-Württemberg (Lake Constance) and Lower Saxony (Altes Land). The two states together account for a good 60 percent of the total German apple cultivation area. Baden-Württemberg is also the only region that expects an above-average harvest of plums and damsons. In Germany, significantly fewer fruits of this type are expected to be harvested, at around 37,100 tons.
Destatis announcement Apple harvest expectations 2024
Source: Stern
