The production costs of a kilo of culinary plums will have risen in 2024 by 20% compared with 2020, was the calculation made by Martin Kockerols of the North German Obstbauversuchsring des Alten Landes and Dr Matthias Görgens of Obstbauversuchsanstalt Jork. In addition to the increased costs of fertilisers, crop protection products and energy, in Germany, it is mainly the strongly rising labour costs that are the cause for the sharp increase in production costs. During the past couple of years, the German government has increased the statutory minimum wage step by step to € 12.41 per hour in 2024. This is a rise of € 3.06 compared with 2020.
With the help of an example orchard, Kockerols and Görgens calculated the production costs of culinary plums in 2024 at € 0.82 per kilo. This is € 0.14 per kilo more than the € 0.68 per kilo calculated for 2020. Due to the labour-intensive harvest, picking costs alone have risen by € 0.09 per kilo in 4 years’ time. During the past 9 years, the price paid by marketing organisation Elbe-Obst for culinary plums was an average € 0.83 per kilo. So, if sales prices remain the same, growing culinary plums will be hardly profitable any more. (Source: Mitteilungen des OVR)
