Overview

• German strawberry prices have risen by nearly 70 percent since 2015, reaching an average of €6.65 per kilogram last year and remaining higher in 2025.
• Labor accounts for up to 60 percent of production costs after the minimum wage rose from €8.50 to €12.82, prompting some growers to reduce acreage or exit the market.
• The number of strawberry farms has declined by 24.1 percent since 2015, and domestic output now meets only 50 percent of consumption compared with 68 percent a decade ago.
• Protected cultivation under foil tunnels has expanded from 730.7 hectares in 2015 to 2,045.5 hectares in 2024, raising yields from 9.3 to 20.4 tonnes per hectare and extending the season into October.
• Market analysts forecast further price increases driven by wage hikes and broader adoption of protected tunnels, while harvesting robots could ease costs and consumers may resist paying more than €5 for a 500-gram punnet.