strawberries

A bitterly cold start to harvesting saw China’s fresh strawberry production fall by 15 per cent last year, despite a marked increase in land planted to the fruit.

According to a USDA Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report China’s fresh strawberry production last year was estimated at 1.35m tonnes, which represents a 10 per cent decrease from 2009. The report attributes this decrease to unfavourable weather conditions during harvesting, which typically runs from December to June. Strawberry yields were down on average by 15-20 per cent, the report stated.

The slump in production is rendered more striking by the fact growers last year increased the amount of land planted to the fruit by 16 per cent on the back of strong returns in previous years. This increase was offset by a 15 per cent decrease in the amount of land given over to strawberries for processing, which garnered weak returns in 2009, the report stated.

The volume of fruit for processing was also down with the USDA estimating production at 130,000 tonnes, which represents a 10 per cent drop from the previous year's figure of 143,000 tonnes. This drop was attributed largely to less area being planted to fruit for processing, and the high prices for fresh strawberries.

Assuming normal weather conditions for the coming season, the report stated total volumes are expected to return to normal.

The report also stated production costs increased in China by as much as 30 per cent, with labour cost increasing by 15 per cent, owing largely to China’s new labour laws and a growing labour shortage.