The strawberry season is in full swing across Germany. While the harvest in strawberry tunnels in the south and west has already been successfully completed, boasting good quality and average yields, the tunnel harvest in other regions is drawing to a close. At the same time, operations nationwide have begun with the open-air harvest.
The unusually high amounts of precipitation in the last 14 days have made the strawberry harvest particularly challenging in the south and in the middle of Germany. In northern Germany, the weather conditions and thus the harvest conditions were better, but there were still frequent showers, and the leaves and fruits remained wet longer, leading to problems with fruit quality there as well.
"Protected cultivation in strawberry tunnels has saved the harvest this season. While the tunnel harvest went well, the open-air harvest this year is putting growers in southern Germany to the test. Currently, strawberry producers are trying to protect their crops primarily from rot by performing what is known as hygiene picking. Under these conditions, prices have fallen below last year's level. Now is a good time to buy strawberries to make your own jam," explains Simon Schumacher, spokesperson for the Association of South German Asparagus and Strawberry Growers (VSSE).
High rainfall challenges strawberry growers in southern Germany
In Bavaria, floods and heavy rainfall have led to widespread flooding. In Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Hesse, the strawberry fields have suffered greatly from the prolonged, heavy rains. Under these conditions, the open-air harvest is more than difficult. In 10 days, the situation could look different and better. This depends very much on the weather.
"The rain has caused major damage. It's a Herculean task for the farms to continue harvesting the strawberry crops. Often, more fruits have to be sorted out during the harvest than can be marketed as healthy fruits. The quality has suffered, but the producers are trying to get it under control. Currently, the strawberry harvest is continuing on a low flame, as there are no longer large marketable quantities of strawberries," explains Christof Steegmüller, strawberry cultivation advisor for southern Germany.
"Due to the massive rainfall and waterlogging, there's a high pressure of fungus in the fields. The picking performance decreases, and the quality is not optimal. So far, I know of no operation that is stopping in this difficult situation. If the farms keep at it, it will get better under drier conditions," says Katrin Hetebrügge, strawberry cultivation advisor in Hesse.
Northern Germany is on the verge of the main strawberry season
"We in the north are used to the fact that the open-air harvest doesn't always start optimally. In the last ten days, we had price pressure due to a lot of produce and quality difficulties, but if it now stays dry and not too hot, then this strawberry season can still turn out well. We are ahead of schedule this year and are now approaching the main harvest. We expect that there will also be a good harvest for our remontant varieties, late varieties, and second planting of strawberries in the summer," Tilman Keller, strawberry cultivation advisor for Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein.
Domestic strawberries priced below last year's levels
After an initial slight price increase of 2 – 7 percent compared to last year, the average consumer price for strawberries in Germany, according to the AMI consumer price mirror across all shopping venues, fell by up to 18 percent due to a decline in demand after Pentecost.
"The marketing of strawberries has been quite alright so far. There was little competitive pressure from foreign produce. In the open fields, there were a few new aromatic varieties like 'Verdi' that have established themselves well. The prices were quite stable in direct marketing, but there were virtually no excess quantities in southern Germany," summarizes Christian Wach, strawberry cultivation advisor for southern Germany.
Pick-your-own strawberries remain a trend
With the Corona pandemic, self-picking experienced a new upswing that continues unabated. Many farms offer strawberry fans the opportunity to pick their strawberries in the fields themselves. Due to the lower prices and the required quantities, self-picking is particularly suitable for making strawberry jam. The demand was so high this year that fields had to be closed early because they were picked clean, but also days with high precipitation slowed down the self-picking.
For more information:
www.vsse.de