In the last few days the first apple harvests started in the areas around Lake Constance and Main. The variety Discovery has already been picked and currently the varieties Gravensteiner and Delbarestivale are being picked. In September the Elstar apples will be harvested, followed by the Gala apples.
According Helmut Jäger, president of the Bavarian Fruit Cultivators Association, to the fruit farmers in Bavaria expect a good average harvest this year. “The quality is good, the taste, color and size are wonderful.” The Bavarian fruit farmers expect 35,000 metric tons of apples (cultivated on 1,100 hectares) as long as hail or bad weather don’t compromise the harvest.
In the 28 member states of the European Union the total apple harvest is estimated on 12 million metric tons. That is a decrease of 3% in the total harvest in the European Union. Compared to the poor harvest of the previous year, Germany expects, with a harvest of 973,000 metric tons, an increase of 8% in the apple harvest.
