Trends in German fruit and vegetable cultivation

In the case of local fruit, the focus is on tree fruit such as apples, pears, plums, prune plums and sweet and sour cherries, which account for 67% of the German fruit-growing area. Due to both the climate and tradition in many regions, apples cover by far the largest share of fruit tree acreage in Germany. Also, strawberry fields can be found everywhere in Germany - they represent 20 % of the cultivated fruit area. Bush berries such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or currants are grown on 13 % of the fruit growing area.

As the yields are different for the different fruit types, the harvest volume is distributed somewhat differently: 86% is accounted for by tree fruit and 10% by strawberries, while bush berries account for only 4% of the total fruit harvest.

Among the vegetables produced in Germany, carrots, onions and cabbage have played the leading roles in recent years. Particularly, carrots and onions are still facing an upward trend. While the cultivated area of pumpkins has increased in recent years, the cultivated areas of pickled cucumbers, cabbages and leafy and stem vegetables have shrunk.

Most of the fruit and vegetables sold and consumed in Germany come from abroad. The most important import countries include Spain and the Netherlands, closely followed by Italy. But non-EU countries such as Costa Rica, Mexico, Ecuador and South Africa are also important import countries for Germany.

Concerning vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers are among the most important imported kinds. Vegetable imports have increased over the last 15 years.

Fruit imports have remained relatively constant over the years. Citrus fruits and bananas dominate in terms of volume. Lemons, mangoes and guavas have increased in import values, while pineapples and kiwi fruits have decreased. Excitingly, a strong dynamic can be observed in avocado, whose imports have quadrupled since 2011!

For apples, a distinction must be made between dessert apples (mainly for direct consumption) and cider apples (for further processing, e.g. into juice or mush). In 2021, around 1.1 million tons of dessert apples were consumed in Germany, while local production amounted to around 760,000 tons. Germany can therefore supply itself with dessert apples for the most part (see question 5). Imports come mostly from EU countries (>80%), mainly Italy, followed by the Netherlands, France and Poland. Apples can be stored for a very long time and can be offered in good quality all year round. In spring and summer, additional apple imports come from southern hemisphere countries such as Chile and New Zealand, where the harvest season is then. Imports of cider apples have fluctuated greatly over the past 10 years; the most important import country for some years has been Poland, followed by Italy, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic.

Germany imports and exports fruit and vegetables. However, imports are much higher, which is why Germany is referred to as a "net importer". The proportion of fruit and vegetables produced in Germany that are also consumed in Germany is indicated by the degree of self-sufficiency.

In the case of fruit, this averaged 15% from 2010 to 2021. This means that 85% of the fruit consumed in Germany comes from imports. This is related to the high consumption of citrus fruits and bananas (around 50% of total fruit consumption), which do not grow in our country.

An interesting single aspect are dessert apples. For them, the self-sufficiency rate averaged 60% from 2011 to 2021 (fluctuating between 40% and 66%, depending on the harvested quantities per year).

The degree of self-sufficiency for vegetables in Germany averaged 36% from 2004 to 2021, significantly higher than that for fruit. The differences between the vegetable types are large. The highest degree of self-sufficiency is for cabbage, asparagus, carrots, onions and leeks. The ranking of vegetables produced and consumed in Germany is headed by cabbage, asparagus, carrots and leeks. They are grown outdoors, usually have a good storage life with the exception of asparagus, and are marketed in both fresh and processed form.

Looking at exports, for vegetables it is mainly onions, cabbage, carrots, lettuces and cucumbers produced in Germany that leave the country. The destination countries are very different: carrots are mostly delivered to the Netherlands, for onions Poland and the Czech Republic are the most important customers, for white and red cabbage it is Sweden. Exports to non-EU countries take place only in very minor quantities. About 1.3 million tons of locally produced vegetables were exported in 2021 (compared to 7.7 million tons of imports).

Of locally produced fruit, about 3,9 million tons were exported in 2021.

There are several approaches to classifying crops into fruits and vegetables. Fruits are mainly sweet-tasting fruits with seeds of perennial, often woody plants. In the vegetable group are usually sorted rather savory, from root, tubers or leaves originating plant parts of annual, herbaceous crops. However, there are exceptions for both sides.

Local fruits can be roughly divided into three categories: Pome fruit, stone fruit and berries.

Apples, pears or quinces, which belong to the rosaceous plants (Rosaceae), are called pome fruits. This group of fruit trees produces fruits, which have a core with five chambers. Pome fruit is often characterized by good storage quality.

The term stone fruit includes fruits such as peaches, plums, yellow plums or cherries - also rosaceous, but which form one larger seed encased in pulp.

The category of berries includes berry bushes or plants that bear perennial rather small, roundish and juicy fruits such as currants, blueberries, raspberries or even grapes. Strawberries are actually considered to be a so called aggregate accessory fruit due to their botanical classification, but are usually counted as a berry due to their appearance and taste.

Local vegetables can be broadly classified into six categories: Fruiting vegetables, leafy and stem vegetables, root and tuber vegetables, cabbage vegetables, legumes, and onion vegetables.

Fruiting vegetables include annual plants that form edible fruits above ground, such as cucumbers, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and peppers.

Leaf and stem vegetables include asparagus, spinach, chard, lettuce and celery. As the name suggests, it is not the fruits that are consumed here, but the leaves and stems of the plants.  The leaf stalks are usually fleshy thickened.

Root and tuber vegetables include beet, carrots, parsnips, celeriac and radishes. The difference between root vegetables (such as carrots) and tuber vegetables (such as celeriac) is that in root vegetables, the edible part comes from the root. In tuber vegetables, a rhizome or "earth shoot" is formed, and roots then form on the underside of the rhizome.

Cabbage is a collective term for cabbage species from the cruciferous plant family (Brassicaceae) and includes, for example, red cabbage, white cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, or kale.

In the case of legumes such as peas and beans, either the seeds are harvested in fresh or dried form, as in the case of peas or broad beans, or the whole pod, is eaten with the then still tender immature seeds, e.g. green beans or sugar snap peas. The special feature of this plant family is its ability to bind nitrogen from the air with the help of nodule bacteria that settle in its roots and make it available to the plant. Legumes are comparatively rich in protein and therefore play an important role in vegetarian/vegan cuisine.

Plants belonging to the onion vegetable group form onion-shaped storage organs. In addition to vegetable onions and shallots, they also include garlic. Leeks are also classified here, although they do not form an actual onion.

Since the groupings follow more practical aspects and do not reflect a botanical-systematic classification, other categorizations are also possible. For example, a distinction is also made between coarse and fine vegetables, whereby the nature of the cell walls (stable or tender) plays a role. Coarse vegetables include white cabbage, red cabbage, beet, celery, onions and broad beans. Typical fine vegetables are vegetable peas, cauliflower, tomatoes, spinach or asparagus.