Industry branch report: Vegetable gardening in Germany - continuous extension with low producer prices in 2004

In 2004, due to favourable weather conditions, the vegetable harvest in Germany was the greatest since reunification at historically low prices, but these prices are probably only temporary. Poor harvests are already occurred in southern Europe, and most market experts expect prices in 2005 to be higher than in 2004. The vegetable-growing sector can expect increasing demand in the coming years, especially for fresh vegetables. Already in the last decade, per-capita consumption of vegetables increased in Germany: from 80 to 95 kg or by 20%. This was greater than the consumption of meat and meat products (ca.. 60 kg). Compared with the Mediterranean EU states (up to 200 kg) vegetable consumption is still much lower, however, so that the growth potential in Germany is considerable.