Switzerland: Raspberries long time coming

People who went hunting for the Swiss Thurgau raspberries in shops in Switzerland this June, nine times out of ten did this to no avail. Until last week, there were mainly import raspberries on sale. “The raspberries suffered from the bad weather conditions this year,” says Philipp Engel, chairman of the Thurgau berry producers. The frost in February and a cold, rainy April did not only do damage to the strawberries, but also to the raspberry plants, and to the early raspberries in particular, which always come onto the market in June.

Since last week, this early variety is now also available. “We harvested two weeks later than normal and also the yield is not extraordinarily high,” states Engel. However, this does not go for the regular raspberries: “We expect to proceed with the main harvest in one week, at the beginning of July.”

For the most part, raspberries are grown in plastic tunnel greenhouses, which protect them from strong rainfall and excessive sunlight. “Nevertheless, raspberries are very weather sensitive. The predicted high temperatures for next weekend will do them more harm than good,” says Engel. In spite of this, he is optimistic: “Actually, it is absolutely normal for the main harvest to take place in July.” The harvest lasts two weeks. The prospect is an average to good raspberry yield. “So far, the berries look healthy and strong. We are looking forward to the coming crop,” concludes Engel.