In 2025, Germany harvested 45,700 tonnes of shrub berries from roughly 9,000 hectares of cultivation, according to Destatis. The cultivated area fell by 2.0 % compared with 2024, yet the harvest volume surged 23.5 %. Favorable weather in 2025-contrasting the late frosts and drought that plagued the 2024 crop-was cited as the reason for the sharp increase. Relative to the six‑year average, total shrub‑berry harvest rose 13.3 %, exceeding the previous record of 45,600 tonnes set in 2021.
Bilberry (Kulturheide) remained the dominant shrub‑berry species, covering 3,450 ha-decreasing 1.4 % from 2024-and accounting for about 38 % of both area and yield. Its 17,300 tonnes of fruit were 14.4 % higher than in 2024.
Other crops followed a similar trend: red and white currants produced 9,300 tonnes, a 37.3 % rise over 2024; raspberries delivered 6,200 tonnes, down 11.1 %; black currants yielded 5,900 tonnes, up 107.4 %.
The area under greenhouses and other high‑protection structures increased 2.6 % to 590 ha in 2025, yet the harvest fell 2.8 % to around 6,500 tonnes. Raspberries dominated these protected areas, making up 77.4 % of the 590 ha. Since 2012, the protected area for raspberries has grown steadily, but this growth plateaued in 2025, with 450 ha essentially unchanged from the previous year.
Organic cultivation occupied about a third (32.2 %, 2,900 ha) of the total shrub‑berry area. The organic harvest reached 6,000 tonnes, representing 13 % of the total yield. Organic area fell 2.6 % from the previous year, but the organic harvest jumped 43.5 % compared with the weak 2024 crop. Over the past six years, the organic yield has increased 25.4 %. The only year with a higher organic harvest was 2021, at 7,100 tonnes. In organic production the leading species were Aronia at 870 ha, bilberry at 590 ha, and seabuckthorn at 480 ha. Bilberry produced the largest organic harvest-about 1,800 tonnes, up 15.6 % from 2024-followed by Aronia with roughly 1,500 tonnes, up 194.8 %.