NAK-FruitVeB: this year’s strawberry harvest will be delayed due to the cool May

According to the statement, strawberries from plastic-covered cultivation appeared on the market in the first week of May, while the picking of open-field fruit began between May 15-20.

They highlighted that the plastic-covered harvest was average, and that the covered stands were effectively protected from the April and May frosts, while the open-field harvest suffered significant frost damage: depending on the region, the yield loss is between 40-80 percent.

Due to the weather conditions, the supply on the markets is decreasing, so the prices at the beginning of May are holding up, and no significant price reduction has occurred. They do not expect any significant changes in the season until mid-June, unless there is an unexpected and significant heat wave.

They also mentioned that the biggest problem currently is the strawberry harvest. Mechanization has not been solved, manual labor is very expensive, and it is also difficult to find labor for the laborious work of picking strawberries.

Strawberries are grown on about 704 hectares in Hungary, and the production area has been continuously expanding over the past five years. In 2024, strawberries were cultivated on a 22 percent larger surface area than in 2020. The harvested crop in 2024 was 8 thousand tons, which is 500 tons more than the amount a year earlier. The expansion is primarily due to the increase in the cultivated area, and specific yields have not changed significantly in recent years.