Knapped in Brandenburg: strawberries and asparagus fall back!

Knapped in Brandenburg: strawberries and asparagus fall back!

Brandenburg, Deutschland - In Germany, agriculture with mixed feelings looks back on the 2023 harvest season. The current figures for strawberry and asparagus harvest are a sign of growing challenges. The decline in the yields and the acreage is worrying - and not only for farmers, but also for lovers of these popular fruits.

The situation is particularly alarming in Brandenburg. Just 640 tons of strawberries were harvested here in 2023, the lowest harvest since 1991. Compared to the previous year, when it was 760 tons, there is a significant decline, which is due to the reduced acreage. The late frost in early May also had devastating effects on flower formation. This year the open-air earth berries were only grown on 118 hectares, a decrease of 24 percent compared to 156 hectares in the previous year. Only for comparison: in 2017 there were over 530 hectares, such as rbb24.de.

The hectare yield has improved slightly and is around 55 decitons - an increase of four decitons compared to 2022 - the overall harvest in Germany -wide comparison is alarming. Around 75,500 tons have been harvested nationwide, the slightest amount for 30 years, which corresponds to a decrease of 4 percent compared to the previous year. The harvest is also severely affected in other federal states such as Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg, although in some regions there were even failures due to persistent rains, such as Spiegel.de analyzed.

asparagus harvest also affected

But not only the strawberries suffered, the asparagus harvest in Germany has also dropped. In 2023, the asparagus harvesting was 98,900 tons, which means a decline of 9 percent compared to the previous year and has been the lowest amount since 2010. In Brandenburg, 18,700 tons of asparagus were harvested, which also means a decrease of 1,500 tons compared to 2022. The cultivation area decreased to around 3,400 hectares, a minus of almost 160 hectares, such as rbb24.de.

The production conditions were initially favorable because the harvest window was longer due to an early start to the season. Jürgen Jakobs, chairman of the Beelitz asparagus association, said, despite the declines, satisfactorily: "The year was reasonable for the asparagus farmers." Nevertheless, the question remains how long such yields are wearable with increasing operating costs and inflation. These factors lead to higher prices for fruit and vegetables and at the same time lower the demand, which has a negative impact on the area, as Zeit.de reports.

Overall, the situation remains tense, and the local farmers have to fight with challenges that go far beyond the forces. The question is which strategies you can develop to secure future harvests and whether consumers have to adapt to more expensive prices.