Vienna [ Austria]: A recent Austrian study revealed a sharp decline in fruit farming and a significant reduction in the number of fruit-bearing trees in Austria.
The number of fruit trees, including apples, pears, and cherries, has dropped dramatically from 35 million in 1930 to just around 4.2 million in 2020.
The study, conducted by the Austrian Federal Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the Federal Association for Fruit Farming, attributed the deterioration of fruit farming and the decrease in agricultural productivity to the impact of climate change on fruit trees.
Extreme weather events, such as winter frosts, high summer temperatures, water shortages, drought stress, and severe thunderstorms with heavy rainfall and floods, were identified as key factors.
The study also included data from Austria’s 2023 Agricultural Structure Survey, which painted a bleak picture of the fruit farming sector. It showed a 14 per cent decline in total fruit-growing area between 2017 and 2023, with significant reductions in the areas planted with apples, apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches, and strawberries.
The study concluded that a temperature increase of between 2 and 3 degrees Celsius would lead to significant and dangerous changes in fruit farming, placing traditional forms of fruit cultivation at particular risk.