The strawberry harvest in Germany in 2023 is expected to be even smaller than in the already relatively poor harvest year of 2022. As reported by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) according to an initial estimate, farmers expect a harvest of about 84 700 tons of strawberries in the open field. This would be the lowest harvest volume since 1998 (81,500 tons). This means that the harvest volume is expected to be 14% below the low strawberry harvest of 98,500 tons in 2022. In 2017 to 2022, the average crop size was 110,400 tons, 23% higher than the expected 2023 crop.
One reason for this development is the 7% decrease in yieldable acreage for field-grown strawberries compared to the previous year, to some 9,200 hectares. This is the lowest figure since 1998. The reduction in relatively cost-intensive domestic strawberry production can be attributed, among other things, to increased production costs and the general price trend with falling demand for these precious fruits. In addition, the harvest started later than usual due to the relatively cool spring of 2023.
Regionally, the largest crop of outdoor strawberries is expected in Lower Saxony with 22,800 tons, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia with 19,100 tons and Baden-Württemberg with 13,000 tons.
Asparagus yield per ha expected to remain unchanged from 2022
The asparagus harvest in 2023 is estimated at 105,700 tons, which would be 4% lower than in the 2022 crop year and the lowest crop since 2013. Compared to the 2017-2022 average of 123,600 tons, the harvest is expected to be 15% lower. The productive acreage of open ground asparagus decreased 4% from 2022 to 20,500 hectares, according to the first estimate. Yield per hectare for asparagus is thus expected to remain unchanged from the previous year. In the case of asparagus, falling demand may also be the cause of the reduction in cultivation area and thus the decline in harvest volume.
At 23,200 tons, most asparagus was harvested in Lower Saxony, followed by North Rhine-Westphalia with 20,200 tons and Brandenburg with 18,100 tons.
Thuringia: Below-average strawberry harvest expected
According to initial preliminary results, 80 hectares of open ground strawberries will be harvested this year. Compared to last year, the area under cultivation decreased by 16 percent (-15 hectares), according to the Thuringian State Office for Statistics. On average over the past 6 years, 123 hectares of strawberries were in production in Thuringia. Thuringian farms with strawberry cultivation estimate a yield of 7.8 tons of strawberries per hectare for 2023.
The expected yield is thus 17 percent below the yield determined for the previous year (-1.6 tons per hectare). The long-term average for 2017 to 2022 (8.3 tons per hectare) will be undercut by 0.5 tons per hectare, or 6 percent.
According to this initial estimate, the projected 2023 outdoor crop will be 628 tons of strawberries. This is nearly one-third (-267 tons or -30 percent) below last year's volume. The long-term average for 2017 to 2022 of 1,020 tons will be undercut by more than a third (-392 tons or -38 percent).
NRW: strawberry harvest 8% below last year's levels
Significantly fewer strawberries have been picked from North Rhine-Westphalian fields this year than in the 2022 season. As the IT.NRW state statistics office announced in Düsseldorf on Thursday, farms in NRW produced 25,934 tons of the sweet fruit this year. According to preliminary results, the strawberry harvest was thus 8.6 percent lower than a year earlier. Compared to 2020, the harvest volume was even 26.6 percent lower.
In the 2023 season, which has now ended, 19,128 tons of strawberries were picked in the open field. 6806 tons of fruit were harvested under high accessible protective covers - including greenhouses.