In 2016, 543 companies in Brandenburg, a German state, grew horticultural products (fruit, vegetables, trees, flowers, ornamental plants, medicinal plants). They cultivated on an area of 10.715 hectares and employed about 18.000 people, reports the Office for Statistics Berlin-Brandenburg.
In 2010, 710 agricultural companies with horticultural production were registered. More than half of the total horticultural area (5.453 hectares) was used for the production of vegetables, especially for asparagus, cucumbers, carrots and strawberries.
2.064 hectares were used for the cultivation of fruit, 1.058 hectares for trees and 64 hectares for flowers and ornamental plants. The horticulture is especially present in the following areas: Potsdam-Mittelmark (40 percent share), Dahme-Spreewald (10 percent), Oberhavel (8 percent) and Havelland (7 percent).
More than half of the total income of 364 (67 percent) out of the 543 companies came from earnings from horticultural activities. In the remaining 179 companies, less than half of the company's income came from horticulture, as the most of their income came from other ways of production. Out of the 364 companies that generated income through horticulture, the main focus of production of 335 companies was on horticultural products. 29 companies specialised particulary in the trade of horticultural products or offer horticultural services (gardening, landscaping, cemetery gardening etc.). Out of the 335 horticultural companies, 79 said that the main focus of their production was on vegetables, 78 said it was fruit, 45 said flowers and ornamental plants and 30 said trees. The remaining 103 companies do not focus more on one production branch compared to others.
Greenhouses, that are very important for the added value, were present in 170 companies. The share of the total horticultural area was, with 98 hectares, less than 1 percent. One of the most important things that defines horticulture is the seasonal employment of the workforce. Out of the 18,000 employees in horticulture, 3,200 were permanently employed throughout the year. However, nearly 14,900 work in horticultural companies for less than 6 months each year.
Source: statistik bbb
