In 2025, a good 45,700 tons of shrub berries were harvested in Germany on a cultivation area of around 9,000 hectares. While the cultivation area decreased slightly by 2.0% compared to the previous year, the harvest volume increased by 23.5%. As the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) further reports, the more favorable weather conditions in 2025 compared to the poor harvest year of 2024, which was marked by late frosts and drought, were one reason for the significant increase in harvest volume. Compared to the average of the past six years, the total shrub berry harvest in 2025 increased by 13.3%. This exceeded the previous highest harvest volume of 45,600 tons in 2021 since the survey began in 2012.
Cultivated blueberries account for the largest share of the harvest
With a cultivation area of 3,450 hectares (-1.4% compared to 2024), cultivated blueberries were once again the most important type of bush berry in Germany in 2025. Their cultivation accounted for around 38% of the total bush berry area and harvest volume. At 17,300 tons, 14.4% more cultivated blueberries were harvested than in 2024.
The berry species with the largest harvest volumes after cultivated blueberries were red and white currants with 9,300 tons (+37.3% compared to 2024), raspberries with 6,200 tons (-11.1%), and black currants with 5,900 tons (+107.4%).
Slight increase in bush berry cultivation in greenhouses
The area under cultivation in greenhouses and other high walk-in protective covers expanded by 2.6% to 590 hectares in 2025, while the harvest volume decreased by 2.8% to just under 6,500 tons.
Cultivation under high walk-in protective covers is mainly used for raspberries, which accounted for the largest share of protected cultivation areas in 2025 at 77.4%. The almost steady increase in protected cultivation area for raspberries since the survey began in 2012 did not continue in 2025. At 450 hectares, it remained almost constant compared to the previous year.
13% organic shrub berry harvest from just under a third of the cultivation area
Just under a third (32.2% or 2,900 hectares) of the total area under cultivation for bush berries was farmed organically in 2025. Around 6,000 tons of bush berries were harvested, accounting for 13.0% of the total bush berry harvest. The organic cultivation area declined slightly by 2.6% compared to the previous year, while the harvest volume increased by 43.5% compared to the poor harvest year of 2024. Compared to the average of the past six years, the organic shrub berry harvest increased by 25.4%. Only 2021 saw an even higher organic harvest volume of 7,100 tons.
The most important crop in organic berry cultivation in 2025 was again the aronia berry with 870 hectares, followed by cultivated blueberries with 590 hectares and sea buckthorn with 480 hectares. With a good 1,800 tons (+15.6% compared to 2024), the largest organic harvest came from cultivated blueberries, followed by aronia berries with a good 1,500 tons (+194.8%).
Source: Destatis
