Agriculture
Record harvest of bush berries
A woman harvests blueberries in a field. The harvest of bush berries in Germany has risen to a record value thanks to favorable weather. Photo: Sina Schuldt/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
In 2020, farms in Germany harvested more berries than ever since statistics began 10 years ago.
The harvest of bush berries in Germany has risen to a record value thanks to favorable weather. Last year, farmers imported almost 45,600 tons of berries.
That was a good quarter (27 percent) more than in 2020 and the largest amount since the surveys began in 2012, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office. At the same time, the acreage remained almost constant over the past year. However, farmers benefited from more favorable weather compared to the previous year, when late frosts and drought spoiled the harvest.
In 2021, the harvest of cultivated blueberries increased sharply (up 38 percent to 15,600 tons). With a cultivation area of 3360 hectares, it was the most important shrub berry species in Germany. Red and white currants followed with 8,800 tons, 18 percent more than in 2020. In addition, 7,000 tons of raspberries and 5,000 tons of black currants were harvested, according to the Wiesbaden statisticians.
Organic cultivation is also on the rise for berries. Farms with completely organic production produced 16 percent of the German bush berry harvest last year. The organic area under cultivation corresponded to almost a third of the entire area under bush berries. In 2012, the proportion of organic cultivation area was 23 percent and only 9 percent of the harvest came from fully organic cultivation.