This year's strawberry harvest in the state of Hesse has now passed its peak. "We have already picked the largest amount of outdoor produce and are now in a small hole. In a few days, we will then start the second set in the tunnel, where we will then continue the season with our remontants. So far, producer prices have been okay, but now quotations are slowly but surely trending downward," says Maximilian Reuhl, owner of the fruit-growing company Wetterauer Früchtchen GmbH & Co. KG in Münzenberg. In addition to the main variety Favori, Reuhl produces the varieties Lady Emma and Hademar.
In addition to strawberries, sweet cherries and, since 2017, raspberries, also grow and thrive on the fruit farm in the heart of the Wetterau region. Reuhl: "We have reduced the cultivation of raspberries somewhat because the prices have repeatedly been too low in recent years, which in turn is due to competition with imported goods. We now offer the raspberries only in direct marketing and have thus found a good sales channel. 125-gram trays are difficult to sell, but the larger containers, such as 250 or 500 grams, are much better received."
High proportion of smaller sweet cherries
The first sweet cherries of this season were also harvested at the end of week 24. "The fruit yield itself is satisfactory, but due to the dryness in the last two to three weeks we will be able to harvest mainly smaller fruits in the early range. In this product segment, we are also in direct competition with imported goods, which among other things means that the second half of the season is more interesting for us purely from a marketing perspective," Reuhl continues.
Due to insignificant rainfall, the orchard relies on pure open field cultivation without weather protection. "Our variety portfolio mainly includes commercially available varieties, such as Kordia, Carmen and Regina, which we offer both in direct marketing and to regional food retail markets. If the weather plays along accordingly, we will be able to market our sweet cherries by the end of July," concludes the fruit producer.
Images: Wetterauer Früchtchen GmbH & Co. KG
Further information:
Maximilian Reuhl
Wetterauer Früchtchen GmbH & Co. KG
Altstädter Feld 1
35516 Münzenberg
Tel.: +496033/9289000
Fax: +496033/970324
E-Mail: [email protected]
www.wetterauer-fruechtchen.de