BERLIN, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Agricultural holdings in Germany harvested a total of 3.9 million tons of vegetables in 2019, an increase of 13 percent compared to the "very low" yield in 2018, the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) said on Monday.
A total of 791,100 tons of carrots were harvested in Germany last year, an increase of almost 27 percent compared to the previous year, and "the largest harvest of carrots since 1950," noted Destatis.
Onions yielded the second largest harvest in Germany with 521,900 tons, followed by white cabbage with 448,800 tons, according to Destatis.
Of the total area under vegetable cultivation, the relative share of asparagus was the highest with around 27,300 hectares, more than 21 percent of Germany's entire cultivated land, as asparagus has "become increasingly popular over the years," Destatis said. Carrots came second.
German farms that cultivated their land completely organically produced 328,400 tons of vegetables on 14,500 hectares. Compared to 2018, the harvest on organically farmed land increased by almost 20 percent.
The German Organic Food Production Alliance (BOLW) noted in mid-February, when the annual figures were published, that the amount of harvested carrots -- "the most important organic vegetable" -- returned to normal in 2019 after losses in the previous year due to the extreme drought.
According to Destatis, organic farms in Germany accounted for more than 11 percent of the total area under vegetable cultivation and nine percent of the total vegetable harvest.
