Strawberry harvest doubles in 15 years despite smaller cultivated area

© Hollandse Hoogte / Bert Beelen
More than 86 million kilograms of strawberries were harvested in 2024, twice as much as in 2010. This is primarily because more strawberries are grown in greenhouses and polytunnels. The total area used to cultivate strawberries decreased by more than 15 percent to 1.4 thousand hectares during the same period. The area used to cultivate small fruit, such as berries, declined after reaching a peak in 2018. This is according to figures from Statistics Netherlands (CBS).

Strawberries grown in greenhouses and tunnels accounted for three-quarters of the total strawberry harvest in 2024. In 2010, they accounted for half the total harvest. The cultivated area of strawberries grown under glass and tunnels has more than doubled since 2010 to 602 hectares in 2024. The strawberry harvest more than tripled to 66 million kilograms over the same period.

In 2024, field-grown strawberries were grown over an area of 758 hectares, nearly 44 percent less than in 2010. But despite this smaller cultivated area, the field-grown harvest only decreased by 4.2 percent during the same period. In 2024, the harvest of field-grown strawberries was over 20 million kilograms.

No figures are available yet for 2025, but provisional figures on the cultivated area are available. In 2025, the area used for field-grown strawberries has decreased further to 724 hectares, 4.5 percent less than in 2024. The area used to cultivate strawberries under glass and tunnels has also decreased by 1.8 percent compared to 2024, to 591 hectares.

Area used to cultivate blackcurrants has more than halved since 2010

In 2025, small fruit was grown on 1.4 thousand hectares of open fields. Small fruit includes blueberries, redcurrants, blackberries, raspberries, blackcurrants and other small fruits. The cultivated area used for small fruit has decreased by nearly 4 percent since 2010.

Of all the small fruit varieties in the Netherlands, blueberries are the most widely grown. After reaching a peak of 949 hectares in 2019, the area used to cultivate blueberries decreased to 647 hectares in 2025. The cultivated area of blackcurrants has decreased by 64 percent since 2010 to 196 hectares in 2025. Both types of berry face competition from berries grown in Eastern Europe. Over half (54.8 percent) of soft fruit grown in the Netherlands is grown in the provinces of Limburg and Noord-Brabant.

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