Rheinland-Pfalz counting on average fruit harvest

The fruit companies in the German state Rheinland-Pfalz will be able to harvest an average harvest of stonefruit this year, according to a current estimate by the state's the Bureau for Statistics.

In apples, the main fruit variety in the state, it is estimated that the yield per hectare will be around 22 tonnes. This value matches that of the average yield of the the last five years. Compared to the good harvest last year, however, there is a decrease of 17%. When the same area as in 2012 is assumed (1,355 hectares), the total harvest yield would be around 29,900 tonnes. This would be 17% percent less than last year.

According to the estimates there is an above average harvest yield for sour cherries this year, 8.9 tonnes per hectare. In the years 2008 to 2013 an average of 7.6 tonnes per hectare was harvested. There is a harvest increase of 13% compared to last year. The total harvest amount is at 5,500 tonnes and the area was 617 hectares this year. The harvest of sweet cherries (496 hectares) is above the multiple year average of 5.4 tonnes with 7.5 tonnes per hectare. Compared to last year there is an increase of 33 percent. The harvest amount was 3,700 tones.

There is set to be a harvest increase of 5.5 percent in the pear cultivation (189 tonnes) compared to the multiple year average, at 19 tonnes per hectare. However, compared to last year the harvest will be 12 percent smaller. The harvest yield will be at around 3,600 tonnes.