According to first estimates, the cherry harvest 2017 will only yield 630 tons. The Bureau of Statistics Berlin-Brandenburg reports that they're expecting 230 tons of sweet and 400 tons of sour cherries. This means, the harvest this year will be 96% lower than the record year of 1992. Many businesses are experiencing a total loss.
The main reason for the losses were the nights of frost in April, which occurred at the time when the cherries were in full bloom. The expectations for the yield of sweet cherries are 6.1 decitonnes per hectare (dt/ha), 74% lower than last year. Sour cherries are expected to yield 48.3 dt/ha, almost 42% less than in 2016. As measured by the cultivation area, cherries, covering 380 hectares, are the second most important fruit after apples. The principle production area, Potsdam-Mittelmark, holds 56% of cultivation. Productive cherry trees are standing on approximately 83 hectares. This means there was a slight increase in the area for the first time since 2012.
Source: Statistics BBB
