The statistical office of the German state Baden-Württemberg estimates in the initial overview the cherry yield, based on the fruit growth in May and the beginning of June, averaged 450 kilos per hectare. The 2016 sweet cherry harvest is estimated on 13,400 metric tons based on the 2,075 hectares. This is more than a tenth lower than the long-term average of 15,320 metric tons from the period 2010/2015. Similarly, the sweet cherry harvest in Baden-Württemberg in 2015 was low too with only 13,810 metric tons. The hail and frost in some regions in May as well as the heavy rains caused the decrease in harvest. And there are some reports of infestations with Drosophila suzukii (the spotted-wing drosophila).
The estimated yield for sour cherries, mainly used in processed products such as jam and juice, is 4800 kilos per hectare, if the weather conditions remain normal. This estimate is clearly less than the already low results of the previous year (6000 kilos per hectare). Since the acreage used for sour cherries is about 200 hectares the total estimated harvest is about 1,000 metric tons. That is about 35% below the long-term average of the period of 2010/2015.
For plums and several plum varieties the officials estimate a yield of 8.1 metric tons. With an acreage of 1,500 hectares a yield of 12,300 metric tons is expected. About one third lower than the long-term average of 18070 metric tons during the period of 2010/2015. And last year the yield (16,290 metric tons) wasn’t high either.