Schmidt appreciates the fruit growers' performance
Saxony: Fruit growers count on average harvest 2015
“The Saxon fruit industry is an important pillar for the rural area of Saxony,” Thomas Schmidt, minister of agriculture said today (August 28, 2015) at the official opening of the apple season in country town Theisewitz (district Saxon-Swiss Eastern Ore Mountains). He also pointed out the currently difficult sale-situation for fruit growers. “That's why we also support the companies in securing and expanding their competitive position.”
Eco-fruit growers benefit
Emphasis on this is supporting investments that give the companies in the fruit industry a funding rate of up to 35 percent. In purchasing hail-protection nets, the Free State carries 35 percent of the cost. “With the supporting of further investments, such as for example 25 percent for specialized machinery, the companies can better respond to changing demands,” says the minister. Ecological fruit growers furthermore benefit from the eco-bonus. They receive 890 Euro per hectare for the introduction or maintenance of ecological cultivation of their plants. The Free State furthermore helps out companies that sell their fruit themselves, in farm shops or on markets, and takes over 75 percent of the expenses for the marketing offensive “Fruiting Saxony – Saxon fruit – crunchy juicy”.
Saxony: double share in eco
Schmidt furthermore pointed out the chances which ecological fruit cultivation offers the companies. “Our companies are on a promising path with this, one which rewards going further,” said the minister. While the eco-fruit growth in Germany oscillated between seven and nine percent in the last two years, it achieved two times as high a share in Saxony. For instance the cultivation area for eco-apples has doubled over the past ten years, to 17 percent of the total of the Saxon cultivation area. “Ecological cultivation opens up doors for the companies for direct marketing and cross-regional sales,” says Schmidt. “Organic apples are wanted. This goes both for the customers in the Saxon farm shops, who are looking for fruit from the local area, as well as people in other parts of Germany, who reach for fresh Saxon apples in the supermarkets.”
With a cultivation area of 2,554 hectares, Saxony is the third-largest closed cultivation area of Germany. Eco-apples are grown on 443 hectares. Apple cultivation is mostly focused in the Dresden area and Muldental.
Source: www.medienservice.sachsen.de