The specialist Ludwig Schmitt from Mainz told the German press agency shortly before the beginning of the harvest that the prices "will definitely be more than last year".
He estimates that cherries could cost "around six to eight euros" per kilo because of the scarce supply. The average price for cherries in 2016 was 3.5 euros. Soon the harvest is to begin in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The effects of frost can also be seen in strawberries. Currently there are few strawberries on the market because the early fruits were missing, according to the chair of the strawberry and asparagus working group in Hesse, Rolf Meinhardt.
"I would go as far as to say that there is currently 50 percent less strawberries on the market than last year". As a result, prices are estimated as being one third higher. This could be balanced out if the later varieties were to bear fruit in the near future.
Gabriel Genter, sales manager at the fruit store in Mittelbaden in Oberkirch, does not rule out a price of eight or nine euros per kilo of cherries. The question is how the buyers will react to it. If Turkish goods are available at a much more reasonable price then it is unlikely that people would pay ten times as much for German produce.
Source: Proplanta
