Two thirds of the German berry harvest coming from Lower Saxony

In 2017, 240 farms in Lower Saxony cultivated shrub berries on an area of 2,223 hectares. As reported by the State Statistical Office of Lower Saxony (LSN), the total yield of shrub berries, at around 11,400 tonnes, was a fair 21% higher than in the previous year.

More than 80% of this area was used for the production of blueberries. In total, 9,577 tons of these healthy blue fruits were harvested in Lower Saxony last year, almost 30% more than in 2016. Accordingly, more than two thirds of the blueberries harvested in Germany came from Lower Saxony.

About 45% of Lower Saxony's blueberry cultivation is concentrated in the Lüneburg statistical region. Especially in the Heidekreis, 23 farms successfully cultivate this shrub berry variety on a total of 383 hectares. Other centers of the Lower Saxony blueberry cultivation are the counties Diepholz (10 farms, 382 ha) and Nienburg (19 farms, 266 ha).

In addition to cultivated blueberries, other shrub berry species such as red, white and blackcurrants, blackberries, gooseberries or aronia berries are cultivated in Lower Saxony.

With a total of just over 152 ha (108 ha in the open air, 45 ha under high protective covers) raspberries are the second most common shrub berry species in Lower Saxony. The centers of Lower Saxony open field raspberry cultivation are the rural districts of Stade with an area of 29.7 ha, Osnabrück with 22.8 ha and Vechta with 15.1 ha.

Source: Statistik Niedersachsen