Apple harvest expected to exceed 1 million tons in 2025
Plum and damson harvest at an average level of 44,500 tons
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German fruit growers are expecting an above-average apple harvest of around 1,009,000 tons in 2025. According to an initial estimate by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) in July 2025, this means that 38,300 tons (+3.9%) more apples are expected to be harvested than the average of the past ten years (970,500 tons). The million-ton mark will therefore be reached again for the first time since 2022 (1,071,000 tons) and the comparatively small apple harvest of the previous year (872,000 tons) will be exceeded by 15.7 %. The reason for the positive harvest expectations are the mild weather conditions during the flowering period and the lack of frost and hail events in most growing regions.
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Apples will be produced on an area of 32,700 hectares nationwide in 2025 and will remain by far the most harvested tree fruit in Germany. The most important growing regions are in Baden-Württemberg (Lake Constance region) and Lower Saxony (Altes Land). In Baden-Württemberg, 362,000 tons of apples are expected to be harvested from an area of 11,600 hectares, while in Lower Saxony an apple harvest of 330,000 tons is expected from an area of 8,400 hectares. These two federal states therefore account for 61.1% of the apple-growing area in Germany and produce more than two thirds of domestic apples (68.6%).
Plum and damson harvests expected to be at an average level
At 44,500 tons, this year's plum and damson harvest is expected to be slightly higher than the average of the last ten years (43,800 tons) by 700 tons (+1.6%). The previous year's figure was also 43,800 tons.
The largest areas under plums and damsons are located in Baden-Württemberg (1,700 hectares) and Rhineland-Palatinate (900 hectares). Despite the close proximity of these two states, there are clear regional differences in the harvest volume compared to the previous year. In Baden-Württemberg, this year's harvest estimate for plums and damsons of 17,200 tons is almost a third (-32.7%) below the harvest volume of 25,600 tons achieved in 2024. In Rhineland-Palatinate, on the other hand, the comparatively low plum and damson harvest of 7,500 tons in the previous year is expected to increase by almost half (+46.5 %) to 11,000 tons. The regional differences in the comparison with the previous year are based on the fact that fruit farms in Baden-Württemberg achieved an above-average plum and damson harvest in 2024, while the other growing regions recorded a sharp drop in yields in some cases. Across Germany, plums and damsons are currently produced for market fruit cultivation on an area of 4,100 hectares.
Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.
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