France’s 2026 strawberry season has highlighted the growing importance of protected production as changing weather patterns create increasingly uneven conditions for commercial soft-fruit growers.
FranceAgriMer’s latest review of the 2026 strawberry campaign, published on 25 September, estimates French strawberry production at 73,400 tonnes, broadly unchanged from 2025 and around 3% above the five-year average.
Behind that headline figure, however, production methods performed very differently.
Strawberry production under glasshouse and other protected systems increased by 8%, while outdoor production fell by 11%, according to Agreste. FranceAgriMer attributed the season’s uneven supply pattern to a combination of winter weather, low light levels, heat, cold and rainfall.
The season began later than expected, with winter conditions and a lack of light delaying production. Several production peaks followed in April, before supply fell sharply in May and then recovered in June.
For growers, the timing of those fluctuations was particularly important. Strong volumes in April put downward pressure on prices, while reduced availability in May coincided with continued consumer demand, resulting in firmer market prices.
FranceAgriMer reported that strawberry prices were generally higher than in previous years during the 2026 campaign.
Heat adds further pressure
The challenges became more pronounced as the summer progressed.
According to France’s national strawberry and raspberry producer organisation, AOPn Fraises Framboises, periods of extreme heat between June and September affected strawberry yields, fruit quality and the length of the production season.
By the end of July, climate-related losses for the French strawberry sector were estimated at almost €10 million.
Reported yield losses varied according to production system, with estimates ranging from 5% to 20%. Earlier varieties such as Gariguette were less affected because much of their crop had already been harvested before the most severe heat.
The raspberry sector faced a different combination of problems. After a favourable start to the commercial campaign, price pressure increased during June and July, while extreme heat also reduced yields and contributed to shortages of French-grown raspberries during much of the summer.
Producers are now looking to autumn production to recover part of those losses.
Imports remain important
France’s domestic production challenges also come against a background of significant international trade.
Between March and July 2026, French strawberry imports increased by 10%. Spain accounted for 77% of imported volume, followed by Belgium at 16% and Morocco at 2%, according to FranceAgriMer.
Spanish supply was itself affected by difficult weather. The season in Huelva, which accounts for approximately 95–98% of Spain’s strawberry production, ended with volumes around 3% lower than the previous year after storms and persistent rainfall disrupted production early in the season.
Despite this, French imports from Spain increased by 3% between March and July.
Moroccan strawberry imports into France fell much more sharply, declining by 33%. FranceAgriMer linked the reduction to a combination of declining cultivated area, competition from Egyptian production, water and labour constraints and weather-related delays and crop damage.
Some Moroccan growers are reportedly moving towards blueberry and raspberry production.
A growing focus on resilience
The contrasting results from protected and outdoor production are likely to add weight to discussions around how European soft-fruit growers can manage increasingly variable weather.
French strawberry and raspberry producers have already been investing in measures including shading, misting and thermoregulated greenhouses. However, the sector’s producer organisation says further development is needed to deal with extreme heat.
AOPn Fraises Framboises has announced a three-year call for projects involving French and European research stations, with a particular focus on improving resilience to extreme heat.
For commercial growers, the 2026 French season demonstrates that production volume alone does not tell the whole story. Timing, growing environment and the ability to manage extreme weather can have a significant effect on both crop availability and market returns.
With protected strawberry production increasing while outdoor production declined in France this year, investment in climate management and protected growing could become an increasingly important part of the European soft-fruit production model.
At the same time, the continued movement of strawberries between European markets means that growers are operating within a highly interconnected supply chain, where weather events in one production region can quickly influence availability, pricing and sourcing decisions elsewhere.
The French experience in 2026 provides another indication of how European berry production is adapting to a more volatile growing environment.
Sources: FranceAgriMer, Agra
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