North Rhine-Westphalia forecast puts state on course to deliver second-largest sweet cherry harvest in past decade
Fruit growers in Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia region say they expect a cherry harvest of 1,442 tonnes this summer, 16.3 per cent lower than last year’s but still higher than the decade average.
According to an initial crop estimate released by the state’s statistical office Information and Technology North Rhine-Westphalia, this season’s sweet cherry harvest is expected to be 1,268 tonnes.
This would be the second-biggest harvest in the last ten years. However, compared with last time around, it would still represent a decrease of 17.5 per cent.
The state’s sour cherry harvest, meanwhile, is forecast at 174 tonnes – a decrease of 6.5 per cent compared with the eventual figure for 2025.
In 2022, cultivated area for sweet cherries in North Rhine-Westphalia was 118ha, and for sour cherries it was 22ha.
Between 2016 and 2022, the area under sweet cherry production expanded by 45.7 per cent, while the area planted with sour cherries contracted by 64.5 per cent.
