Due to mild weather

The strawberry season is already underway in Carinthia

There is good news for strawberry lovers: The sweet, red fruits are almost ripe. And three weeks earlier than normal. And there's even more good news for those with a sweet tooth. The prices for strawberries are likely to be moderate this year.

The first strawberries are ripe. The strawberry season in our state starts around three weeks earlier than usual. The first fruits are already being harvested in the fields. Due to the above-average mild temperatures in recent weeks, some strawberry farmers have already been able to start picking. In Burgenland and Styria, the harvest is already in full swing.

Johanna Weber with the first strawberries of the year. In Lavanttal, the frost has damaged some blossoms, but prices remain moderate.(Bild: Bartlbauer)

Regional produce offers even more enjoyment
Connoisseurs appreciate the taste of regional fruit: "When they come straight from the fields, our local, sun-ripened strawberries are much tastier than imported goods."

Bartl farmer Hieronymus Weber in Wolfsberg has also been offering fresh strawberries for a few days now. "They were protected under foil. We had four or five days of frost in April, and some of the flowers were hit. However, the damage varies greatly from region to region." Bartlbauer also offers ripe strawberries at the Kammerhof in St. Andrä. In the last week of May, the harvest should also start in the other strawberry regions.

Burgenland and Styria were spared the frost. In Carinthia, the strawberry fields will open at the end of May.

Hieronymus Weber, Bartlbauer

Moderate prices for local berries
Despite some frost-related crop failures, the price of strawberries is likely to be moderate, Weber believes: "The price per kilo for home-picked strawberries will be around 3.90 euros. Picked strawberries will probably cost seven euros per kilogram in the strawberry countries."