Coswig (dpa/sn) – Saxony’s fruit growers are expecting a mixed apple harvest this year. “The taste of the fruit is very good, very sweet and also juicy and crunchy due to the moisture of the past few days,” said Udo Jentzsch, Managing Director of the State Association of Saxon Fruit, at the season opening on Monday in Coswig. However, at 61,500 tons, the estimated yield is eight percent lower than in 2021 with just under 70,000 tons. “Because of the drought, the fruits are smaller and we have losses due to sunburn.”
Jentzsch said that this year’s amount could only cover 60 percent of the demand in the Free State. The potential is there with a cultivation area of ??2500 hectares, “with a good harvest”. It would have needed less heat and sun and more rain. “The three or four weekends with over 30 degrees do not tolerate these fruits.” Jentzsch assumes that, due to the quality, around 40 to 50 percent of the harvest goes into cider production.
Hail nets and sprinklers are already being deployed to protect the fruit from the scorching sun. “But you also have to have the necessary water for that,” said Jentzsch. There are also attempts to spray trees with kaolin, a white clay, to protect them.
In view of the rising minimum wage, the need for pesticides, price increases due to regulations, environmental measures, bureaucracy and losses due to climate change, the association is calling for a greater share of the profit margin with a view to the future. Currently, the fruit growers have to bear the costs themselves.
According to Jentzsch, the trade pays producers 30 to 50 cents per kilogram, but resells apples for 1.50 to 3.50 euros per kilogram. If that doesn’t change, “there will soon be no more fruit growing”. This season, prices have remained at the previous level, but in the future they would rise. “We are already feeling a reluctance to buy, fruit is becoming a luxury.”
