French strawberries 25% cheaper as 2024 sees bumper crop

Now could be a great time to dig out your strawberry recipes, as prices in France are set to go down due to a bumper crop of the summer fruit across the country.

This production peak is set to last until the end of June, with prices expected to drop as a result. Varieties including Ciflorette, Charlotte, Marat des Bois, and Cléry - as well as the prized Gariguette - are all affected.

French strawberries typically cost up to 50% more than those from Spain or Belgium, but will cost 20 to 25% less than normal this season.

The bumper harvest is a result of the changeable weather over the past couple of months, farmers have said. 

“May was relatively cold and rainy. But for the last ten days, the sun has been shining again and the temperatures are mild, so we're seeing an influx of production,” said Xavier Masse, a strawberry grower in Lot-et-Garonne and President of the Association des producteurs de fraises de France, to FranceInfo.

The peak of the crop has come later than usual, meaning that French strawberries are not competing against one of their usual rivals: Spanish strawberries. Their peak came early, so the season is over.

Yet, farmers still fear that “imported fruit…from Spanish apricots to Moroccan melons” could turn consumers away from French produce and strawberries in particular, said Mr Masse, and he urges consumers to buy French.

Read also: La fraise: The strange history of France's strawberry family 
Read also: How many of these 12 fruity French expressions do you know? 

“We're asking [supermarkets] to play the game of seasonal products and French products, of course…[so that foreign produce] is not sold to the detriment of our produce,” he said.