Some German apple farmers are expecting a total harvest failure this year. Germany’s most popular fruit now has to be imported. Consumers are likely to feel this primarily in higher prices.
Autumn is harvest time for Germany’s most popular fruit: the apple. But this year the yield from apple farmers is low. German fruit growers are expecting the worst harvest in years. They expect a harvest of 734,000 tons, around 26.3 percent less than the average harvested over the past ten years, as determined by the Federal Statistical Office.
There are several reasons for the poor harvest forecast: Due to the mild winter, the trees started blooming unusually early. Then, however, there was another frost in April, which most of the flowers did not survive. Apple farmers and wineries are now facing the worst harvest since 2017.
“Total failure of the harvest”
One of those affected is Peter Possmann. He runs a winery in Frankfurt and owns several orchards around the city. When he walks through his meadows, he always sees trees with hardly any fruit hanging on them. The apple is of great importance to Possmann’s company, which produces apple juice and cider, which is popular in Hesse. A bad harvest has very concrete economic consequences for the winery operator: “That is an existential problem for us.”
After an initial inspection, Possmann estimates that there are only about a third as many apples hanging on the trees in his orchard this year as usual. However, this varies from tree to tree: There are trees that bear the normal amount of fruit, then a complete failure follows.
According to Possmann, the areas in eastern Germany were particularly badly hit – some farmers here experienced a “total harvest failure”. With consequences: “This year in particular we have enormous competition when purchasing apples. It’s a challenge to get fruit from normal sources at a reasonable price. This year there’s a lot of competition,” describes Possmann.
Hope from two federal states
Farmers in Baden-Württemberg and Lower Saxony, who own the largest share of the cultivated area in Germany with a total of 60.5 percent, benefit from this. In Baden-Württemberg, according to the State Statistical Office, more apples will probably be harvested – against the trend – than in 2023. But even this cannot fully cover the supply, which is why, according to data from the Agricultural Information Society, 100,000 tons more apples than usual are expected to be imported from abroad have to be.
Consumers will probably notice this at the latest when they look at the prices in the supermarket: the expenses for longer transport routes will have an impact on the price of apples and the resulting products. Regional apples currently cost an average of around 2.20 euros per kilogram, while imported apples from neighboring European countries cost 2.60 euros.
Given the poor harvest in this country, further upward adjustments are likely to follow: experts expect apple prices to rise by at least ten percent. In addition, it is to be expected that more Class II apples with small cosmetic defects will be offered.
Higher prices cause sales to fall
Kelterer Possmann will also adjust its prices. “We will not be able to avoid the fact that cider and apple juice are becoming more expensive. There is no other way for us, for the small family businesses, to survive this than to increase prices.”
Even though he has little choice but to increase prices, Possmann is concerned about the future. Because: “If the price rises, it always poses a risk for us that we will sell less and people will consume less of it.” The winery owner now hopes that the weather conditions will be better for next year’s harvest.