For three consecutive seasons, Spanish cherries have travelled across Europe following the same direction, almost as if the entire continent were tilting northwards. Every spring, when the first fruits begin to emerge from early areas and commercialisation starts, the final destination already seems written: Germany.
What just a few years ago was an important market has now become the axis that holds up the sector. And the data tells the story with a clarity that needs no interpretation: while Spain exported 37,000 tonnes of cherries in 2023, 40,000 in 2024 and 44,000 in 2025 (FEPEX data), the country absorbing much of that growth was always the same. But it is in value where the story takes on its full dimension.
In 2023, Germany bought Spanish cherries worth 35 million euros. In 2024, practically the same amount (despite the sharp drop in production due to weather conditions). And then came 2025, a season marked by better calibres, less competition and stronger demand. That year, Germany doubled its bet: 76.7 million euros. More than double two years earlier. More than double any other European destination. More than double what anyone in the sector would have imagined a decade ago.
Spanish cherries are growing, yes. Volume is increasing, value is recovering, the average price is improving. But the export map is narrowing. More and more fruit is travelling to a single country, and more and more operators acknowledge that the success of the season depends on how the German market responds.
A market that sets the pace
In loading docks, cooperatives and packing houses, the question repeated every year is the same: “How is Germany doing?” It’s not an exaggeration. It’s commercial reality.
Because while France is retreating —from 19 million in 2023 to barely 12.8 million in 2025— and the Netherlands is losing weight, Germany moves forward without looking back. Its retailers demand, pressure, select… but they pay.
While other European destinations operate with more contained prices, the German market has consistently recorded the highest values of the three‑year period. In 2023 it paid €4.15/kg, above France (€3.02/kg) or the Netherlands (€3.10/kg). In 2024, even in a year of greater commercial pressure, it maintained an average price of €3.56/kg, again above the major buyers. And in 2025, when quality was strong and competition lower, Germany shot up to €5.13/kg, far ahead of France (€4.11/kg) or the Netherlands (€3.65/kg). It’s not just that it buys more volume: it is the country that best remunerates Spanish cherries, the one that sustains total export value and, ultimately, the one that defines the profitability of the season.
Spanish cherries have found there a consumer willing to value the product, a retail sector seeking volume and quality, and a commercial window in which Spain fits perfectly. The result is an intense, almost symbiotic relationship that drives the sector but also conditions it.
The risk of depending on a single heartbeat
The growth of 2025 —36% more export value— could be interpreted as a resounding success. And it is. But it is also a warning. Because that leap is not explained by market diversification or balanced expansion. It is explained by Germany.
If the German market sneezes, the Spanish season catches a cold. If Germany changes supplier, adjusts prices or modifies specifications, the impact would be immediate. The pressure on Spanish cherries is therefore enormous.
The sector knows it. And even so, reality is what it is: Germany sustains the value of Spanish cherries. And as long as it continues to do so, the season will breathe a little easier.
A future that calls for balance
Spain has shown the ability to grow in volume, improve in quality and recover value. But the challenge ahead is not producing more, but selling better and in more places.
Germany is a formidable ally, but also a mirror reflecting the fragility of depending on a single market. Spanish cherries are enjoying a good moment, perhaps one of the best in recent years. But their future depends on broadening horizons, conquering new destinations and balancing a scale that today leans too heavily to the north.
Meanwhile, every spring, when the first fruits once again colour the trees, the question will remain inevitable: How is Germany doing?
