The vegetable harvest in Germany reached a record high of 4.5 million tonnes last year, an increase of 8.1% compared to the previous year, according to Destatis, the federal statistics office.
This was 13.2% higher than the 2019–2024 average, the data showed.
The total cultivated areas for vegetables increased by 3.9% on a year-on-year basis (and by 3.6% compared to the 2019-2024 average), to 131,700 hectares, across 5,960 vegetable-producing farms.
On a regional basis, North Rhine-Westphalia had the largest open-field vegetable cultivation area, at 28,600 hectares, followed by Lower Saxony (26,500 hectares), Bavaria (17,500 hectares), and Rhineland-Palatinate (16,000 hectares).
Onions lead the way
According to Destatis, onions were the most-harvested vegetable in Germany last year, seeing a 21.4% rise year-on-year to total 903,300 tonnes.
Carrots, which saw a 1.8% increase year-on-year, recorded 865,700 tonnes, followed by white cabbage at 507,500 tonnes (+1.8%), and pickling cucumbers at 197,600 tonnes (-7.5%).
Onions also occupied the largest cultivation area, covering some 19,770 hectares – a 11.7% increase on the previous year – followed by asparagus, carrots, white cabbage, and pumpkins.
Organic cultivation
Some 15.6% of Germany’s total vegetable cultivation area was certified organic in 2025, along with 13.2% of the total harvest. Organic production was up 6.4% year-on-year, with the total organic harvest rising by 12.6%.
Carrots were the most organically-produced vegetable in Germany last year, with beetroot, pumpkins, courgettes and peas also boasting particularly high shares of organic production relative to their total harvest.
In terms of vegetables grown in greenhouses and other covered production formats, tomatoes and cucumbers accounted for 80% of this harvest. Organic cultivation in covered formats accounted for 24% of the total area and 15.4% oof the organic vegetable harvest.
Vegetables grown in greenhouses and other covered formats covered 1,250 hectares, the data showed. Read more here.
