Strawberry farmers are worried about more rain

Strawberry season
Fear of mold: Strawberry farmers fear even more rain

After the heavy rains, especially in western Germany, strawberry farmers are hoping for a change in the weather. “Due to the mild winter, many are already fully planting early varieties outdoors,” said Simon Schumacher from the Association of Southern German Asparagus and Strawberry Growers (VSSE) in Bruchsal near Karlsruhe. If the fruit is wet, it cannot be harvested, which reduces its shelf life. In addition, moisture poses a risk of fungi of the Botrytis genus, said Schumacher.

With mulching film and straw, farmers could clean the strawberries and prevent them from rotting. “We are also lucky in misfortune: it is not too warm, not humid,” said the expert. Otherwise the fungal problem would be even bigger. Nevertheless, “hygiene picking” is always recommended to remove rotten fruit. “You have to watch this with eagle eyes.”

But it shouldn’t get too warm too quickly either. “The fruit needs time to ripen, to store aromas and sugar,” said Schumacher. 25 degrees, slightly cloudy, not humid – that would be ideal. If it gets too hot, the strawberries would suddenly turn red, but would remain softer and then offer a larger surface area for fungal diseases. he

The course of the season varies considerably from region to region

On average, the season went well. Thanks to plastic tunnels, many fruits in Germany were saved even during the late frosts at the end of April – unlike in Poland, for example, said Schumacher. However, there are large regional differences – depending on how much rain there was locally. The northeast, for example, had hardly any problems with this, as the food trade here is well supplied, said Schumacher. “But customers will also find good goods in retail and direct marketing elsewhere.”

Imported strawberries from Greece or the Netherlands, for example, no longer played a major role in May. However, strawberries are also typically popular when the sun is shining, said Schumacher and spoke of “good weather customers”. In this respect, demand and supply both fell when it rained. In addition, there are now Whitsun holidays in some federal states, which is why fewer strawberries are being bought. According to the GfK household panel, every private household ate 4.13 kilograms of the sweet fruit last year – a good half came from German cultivation, as the VSSE also announced.

First “German Strawberry Day”

According to the expert, strawberry prices this year should be on average at the same level as last year, unless it stays wet and cold for a longer period. Inflation has fallen and the minimum wage has been slightly increased. There is no shortage of workers. Working hours are shorter in some places because of the weather.

How long the season lasts depends primarily on the weather, explained Schumacher. “If necessary, it can be over here and there at the end of June.” This Friday, the industry wants to advertise again and celebrate the first self-initiated “German Strawberry Day”. The association representative announced that there would then be special promotions in many places – from strawberry secco to strawberry cake.