Karl's strawberry farm: “Cheaper than it has been for a long time” – the parable of pricy strawberries | EUROtoday

Strawberries appear to get costlier yearly. Not true in any respect, says Robert Dahl. He is the third era to run the household enterprise KarlsStrawberry Farm.

With six journey villages and small strawberry theme parks, the farm is an actual establishment for households within the northern half of Germany. There are additionally 400 stands within the typical strawberry form. However, the core of the corporate stays strawberry cultivation.

WELT: Finally it's strawberry season once more. But the costs at their stands are fairly steep this 12 months.

Robert Dahl: If you contemplate that it's solely mid-May, I don't assume so in any respect. 750 grams presently value us 7.90 euros. This is lower than on the similar time prior to now three years. Because of the great climate we’re already harvesting an unusually great amount. From May fifteenth, a kilo solely prices 8.90 euros. That hasn't occurred for a very long time. You should not examine the bottom worth from the final peak season with the present worth at the start of the strawberry interval.

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WELT: Still, it's not likely low-cost. Will it get any cheaper?

Dahl: Yes, we’re harvesting extra on daily basis now. Last 12 months we additionally turned cheaper because the harvest elevated. Our essential varieties often ripen in mid-June. However, with the great climate, this might occur sooner. Three days in the past I used to be on a subject tour: it already regarded like June 1st.

WELT: Strawberries are actually considerably cheaper within the grocery store.

Dahl: You can’t examine our strawberries with imported strawberries. In Spain or Morocco the manufacturing circumstances are utterly totally different. And in southern Germany too, the harvest is three to 4 days forward. That's why you’ll find German strawberries from the southern area at decrease costs. But I'm fairly pleased with our harvest thus far. Soon we could have too many strawberries ripe on the similar time and should supply them in two-kilo baskets once more. Then the worth per kilo is probably 5.90 euros.

WELT: Is there a worth that’s so excessive that have reveals that folks cease shopping for?

Dahl: We begin the season at 3.30 euros for 250 grams. I feel that's an unlimited worth. We have by no means dared to do extra. And this even if our prices are continuously rising. For instance, by excessive power prices or the minimal wage.

WELT: Chancellor Olaf Scholz proposes to step by step improve the minimal wage to fifteen euros. Would that hassle her?

Dahl: For me, it is a comparatively clear marketing campaign present to lift the minimal wage for the second time. Olaf Scholz went into the final federal election marketing campaign with a promise to extend the minimal wage to 12 euros, whatever the accountable fee. In basic, I’m in favor of the minimal wage, but it surely shouldn’t be set purely politically.

WELT: What does that imply on your business?

Dahl: So-called particular crops resembling asparagus, blueberries and even our strawberries might be pushed out of Germany, as a result of the minimal wage is hardly as excessive anyplace in Europe. We compete with Italy and Spain, the place it’s a lot decrease – to not point out Morocco.

WELT: Your staff might even see it in another way…

Dahl: It would after all be good for the harvest employees if the minimal wage elevated to fifteen euros. But that is tough for corporations to bear. And it’s important to see that we make use of a variety of college students through the season, for instance. They pay no taxes in any respect on the seasonal wage, so that they get the minimal wage gross for internet. This is a special state of affairs than, for instance, an industrial employee. In basic, it will be a disgrace if strawberries from Germany had been unsaleable in some unspecified time in the future and we solely imported them.

WELT: Her household has managed to show the strawberry right into a branded product with journey villages, eating places and in a single day lodging. Are you continue to competing on worth?

Dahl: Yes, simply the truth that we’re each now discussing the problem of worth reveals how a lot folks care about it. We additionally can’t promote our strawberries at any worth. And we don't need it both. We wish to be accessible to everybody. Our journey villages supply free entry; we don't wish to be a luxurious model.

WELT: What are you doing to stay worth aggressive?

Dahl: We are investing in new applied sciences, for instance in so-called rack cultivation. As a form of raised mattress, these allow the pickers to work standing up. This is far more handy and environment friendly. This means you’ll be able to produce extra kilos per hour and that helps us earn the minimal wage.

WELT: What manufacturing are you anticipating this 12 months?

Dahl: We are aiming for six,000 tons of strawberries. We course of 1,200 tons of this into jam. We attempt to promote the remainder by our 400 stands in six federal states. What goes again turns into strawberry nectar, which we promote in our journey villages.