German fruit growers have to make do with a below-average cherry harvest this year. The reasons for the poor harvest were early flowering, late frosts and storms.
Germany’s fruit growers have had a below-average cherry harvest this year due to unfavorable weather conditions. As the Federal Statistical Office announced today, based on a final estimate as of August 20th, 40,200 tons were harvested. This was a decline of 17.5 percent compared to the strong previous year.
Even in a ten-year comparison, the cherry harvest was well below average at 14.7 percent. The statisticians cited early flowering and regional late frosts as reasons. In addition, pests and storms with heavy rain led to losses in yield.
Significantly less sour cherries
There were differences in the harvest of sweet and sour cherries: At 32,400 tons, the sweet cherry harvest was 15.9 percent lower than in the previous year. At 7,800 tons, the sour cherry harvest was almost a quarter below the previous year’s figure. Due to declining acreage and unfavorable weather conditions, the lowest harvest in more than ten years was achieved.
Harvest yields for pears also fell significantly this year: the expected volume of 36,000 tons will be 7.4 percent lower than the average of the past ten years. Compared to 2022, the pear harvest is likely to be roughly at the same level as the previous year.