In 2025 German growers harvested 45,700 tonnes of bush‑fruits from about 9,000 hectares of farmland. Although the area cultivated dipped 2.0 % compared with 2024, the harvest increased 23.5 %. Statisticians noted that the milder weather of 2025, in contrast to the late frosts and drought that plagued 2024, accounts for the marked rise in yields. The total harvest was 13.3 % above the six‑year average, and it surpassed the previous record of 45,600 tonnes set in 2021.
The dominant berry species was the black‑hawthorn berry (Kulturheidelbeere). It occupied 3,450 hectares-down 1.4 % from 2024-and represented roughly 38 % of the total planted area and yield. 17,300 tonnes were collected, an increase of 14.4 % over the prior year. Other high‑yield varieties were, in descending order, red and white currants (Johannisbeeren) with 9,300 tonnes (up 37.3 % versus 2024), raspberries with 6,200 tonnes (down 11.1 %), and black currants (Schwarze Johannisbeeren) with 5,900 tonnes (up 107.4 %).
Greenhouse and other high‑structure cultivation expanded 2.6 % to 590 hectares in 2025, whereas the yield from these protected systems fell 2.8 % to about 6,500 tonnes. Raspberries dominated the protected area, accounting for 77.4 % of it and covering 450 hectares-almost unchanged from the previous year. The steady long‑term growth of protected raspberry cultivation, which had been in place since 2012, did not continue in 2025.
Organic production covered 32.2 % (2,900 hectares) of all blackberry acreage. Harvest from organic farms totaled 6,000 tonnes, which comprised 13.0 % of the national yield. Organic acreage fell 2.6 % against 2024, yet the harvest rose 43.5 % from the weak 2024 season. Compared with the six‑year average, organic berry yields increased 25.4 %-the only year higher than this figure was 2021, with 7,100 tonnes. Within organic cultivation, the most planted variety was the Aronia berry (Aroniabeere) with 870 hectares, followed by black‑hawthorn with 590 hectares and sea buckthorn (Sanddorn) with 480 hectares.
The organic harvest yielded approximately 1,800 tonnes of black‑hawthorn berries (up 15.6 % versus 2024) and about 1,500 tonnes of Aronia berries (an increase of 194.8 % versus 2024).