The Austrian shrub berry season 2025 officially ended a few weeks ago. Overall, it was an average year for berries, according to Hannes Pankarter, who grows blueberries, raspberries, and, more recently, strawberries in Styria. The kiwi berry was a positive exception this year, the berry specialist continues. "We had neither severe frosts nor significant heat waves this year, so we were able to achieve very good results in terms of yield, fruit size, and skin quality. Sales on the Austrian domestic market were also above the multi-year average."
© Kronprinz Fruchthandels GmbH
Insight into the kiwi berry plantation: In recent years, cultivation capacities have been reduced somewhat.
Kronprinz Fruchthandels GmbH, based in southeastern Styria, is Austria's leading supplier of domestic kiwi berries. Over the past decade, the company has become a permanent partner of the Austrian food retail trade when it comes to kiwi berries. The first Geneva variety kiwi berries were picked at the beginning of August, and harvesting continued until the third week of September this year. The last domestic kiwi berries were delivered at the beginning of October. Pankarter: "The marketing window was therefore slightly longer than in the previous year, which saw low yields (as reported by FreshPlaza.de). It should also be noted that the produce sold quite quickly this year; otherwise, we could theoretically have extended the season by another 1–2 weeks."
Limited shelf space for domestic kiwi berries
Over the years, domestic kiwi berries have developed into a stable niche product. "In terms of consumption, we still see room for improvement," emphasizes Pankarter, who nevertheless points to the numerous challenges. "On the one hand, kiwi berries are very sensitive to weather conditions, which makes cultivation difficult for us. In addition, they are not permanently listed by many food retailers, which means that we are very dependent on placement at the marketing level: in other words, in a year with a bumper crop, the shelves are stocked with other berries. This is and remains a challenge."
For more information:
Johannes Pankarter
Kronprinz Fruchthandels GmbH
Wolfgruben 5
8211 Ilztal, Austria
Tel: +43 3112 21 666
Fax: +43 3112 21 666 21
[email protected]
www.kronprinz.cc
