Strawberry season begins: First fruits from flowering tunnels!

Strawberry season begins: First fruits from flowering tunnels!

The strawberry season in Rhineland-Palatinate has started and the first strawberries were harvested before Easter. However, the main office is only expected at the end of April. These early strawberries come from special walk -in tunnels that enable the fruits to cultivate the fruits. The outdoor cultivation, which is traditionally also known in Rhineland-Palatinate, will only be active with full harvest from May, as this harvest is strongly based on the weather. Currently the conditions are mostly positive, there were only a few frost damage. However, the precipitation announced in the next few days could be both beneficial and disadvantageous: too much rain could favor mushroom diseases.

like Rheinland-Pfalz/erdbeere-in-rlp-hbetnen-fiezen- 2025-100. The prices for strawberries are currently around 6 euros for a 500 gram shell, of which a variation is expected depending on the point of sales. The discussion about the possible increase in the minimum wage to 15 euros also raises questions about the pricing for strawberries. A higher minimum wage could result in the prices and result in a decline in certain attachment cultures.

seasonal workers: an indispensable factor

in German agriculture are essential. In 2023, around 243,000 seasonal workers worked, which mainly helped with the harvest of strawberries, asparagus and in the wine harvest. Most of these workers, such as Deutschlandfunk , receive only a little more than the minimum wage of 12.41 euros per hour.

Around 70 percent of the seasonal workers come from Romania, followed by 25 percent of Poland. Other countries of origin include Bulgaria, Croatia and some non-EU countries such as Georgia and the Republic of Moldova. Many companies pay chord -based harvest helpers, which can offer higher earning opportunities. However, the seasonal workers generally do not acquire any pension claims, since no social security contributions do not have to be paid for short -term employment. This forms a potential problem because many of these workers are not equipped with the necessary social security.

cost increases and challenges for agriculture

The increasing discussions about rising production costs by the minimum wage concern the agricultural associations. The fact that the acreage for strawberries in Rhineland-Palatinate from 636 hectares in 2019 to 439 hectares in 2024 could be in this context. At the same time, the protected cultivation has increased in recent years, from 25 hectares in 2015 to 84 hectares in 2024, which underlines the need to adapt to changing market conditions.

agriculture is dependent on seasonal harvest helpers. Despite the mechanization, many sensitive works are required manually, which is why a decline in the availability of seasonal workers could have a serious impact on the harvest yields. However, unions have pointed out the lack of social security for short -term employees. Another aspect is reports on possible bypasses of the minimum wage and excessive accommodation costs for работников.