German fruit growers struggle as imports drive prices down

Fruit growers in Bavaria are abandoning their farms or switching to part-time production as cheaper imports make domestic cultivation increasingly unprofitable, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) reports.

Only about 7 percent of the fruit consumed or used in Bavaria is produced in the state, according to a study by Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences and the Technical University of Munich. The figure is about 16 percent across Germany.

Fruit from abroad is cheaper, while cultivation in Germany is declining. Politicians have warned that domestic food production makes a country more resilient and is important for security during crises.

The decline affects cherries as well as plums. Cherry blossom in Franconia’s Switzerland is well known, but more growers in the region are giving up or operating only as a secondary business because they can no longer compete on price with producers in EU and non-EU countries.

Martin Friedrich from Igensdorf recently sold his last plums at a market in Oberasbach. Customers quickly bought the small boxes, appreciating that the fruit was freshly harvested and had not travelled long distances. They were also unconcerned that the plums varied in size.

Retailers, however, require fruit measuring 32 millimetres. Double fruits, or twin fruits, are not accepted, while sorting by size costs 40 cents per kilogram.

According to the German fruit growers’ association, about one fruit-growing business in Germany is now closing every two days. In an open letter to politicians, consumers and retailers, the association said domestic growers met high quality, environmental and social standards and invested in biodiversity, water protection and climate protection, but could no longer compete with foreign producers.

The letter said cheap imports were flooding the market, while production and labour costs in Germany were too high. Harvest workers in Spain earn a maximum of 50 euros per day, compared with 13.90 euros per hour in Germany. Italy has more sunshine and better soils, resulting in higher yields, it said.

Germany experienced during the coronavirus pandemic what can happen when supply chains fail and foreign fruit can no longer be imported. At that time, regional products became particularly popular because supply chains were disrupted.

Jochen Schmidt, who runs an organic farm in Mittelehrenbach in Upper Franconia, employed six harvest workers for this year’s plum harvest. He plans to increasingly use plantation cultivation, with dense planting and smaller trees. Harvesting without ladders cuts costs by 30 percent.

The landscape of Franconia’s Switzerland is already changing as traditional orchards gradually give way to plantations. Growers are trying self-service fields, sales stands and new varieties. Drone monitoring, sensors and agrivoltaics are already being used in cherry cultivation in the region.

Despite these efforts, the number of fruit growers continues to fall. The key question is how much consumers are willing to pay for a reliable domestic supply and what policymakers are prepared to do to support it.

According to agricultural statistics, 1,670 farms in Bavaria cultivated fruit commercially on around 5,800 hectares in 2018.