The production of strawberries in Europe has risen by 28% over the last ten years. The EU produced a volume of 1.2 million tonnes of strawberries in 2016. Of this, almost a quarter comes from Spain, Poland has a share of 17%, Germany 14%, Italy 11% and the UK 9%. Together these countries are worth three quarters of the European production.
The trade within Europe
Within Europe a lot of strawberries are moved from one member state to another. In 2016 this was a volume of 450,000 tonnes with a value of almost 1 billion Euro. The main 'recipient' was Germany, which received more than 113,000 tonnes. The biggest suppliers within Europe are Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium. Spain produces 80% of the production in three months, March, April and May.
Export of strawberries outside of Europe
A lot of strawberries are also exported outside of Europe. In 2016 this was 55,000 tonnes. The top 5 destinations are Belarus, Switzerland, Norway, Serbia and the UAE. Europe also imports strawberries that come from outside of the EU. These mainly come from Morocco, Egypt and the US.
Prices
What is striking is that the export prices are the highest. When it comes to the strawberry trade within the EU, the average price in 2016 was a sum of 2.30 per kilo. Prices for imported strawberries are 3.09 on average and export are 2.41 per kilo.
European Consumption
The consumption differs by country. In the EU we ate an average of 1.64 kilo per capita in 2016. The Netherlands is far below the average at 0.7 kilo. Belgium is at 2.15 kilo per person per year. Austria is very high and on average people there consumer 3.09 kilo per year.