Obstbau#

Fruit Growing. Fruit is grown in Austria on an area of 18,297 ha (1997), whereby 8,604 hectares (figure for 1998) is used for intensive fruit cultivation: 5,965 hectares apples, 416 hectares pears, 374 hectares peaches, 363 hectares apricots, 43 hectares sour cherries, 1,224 hectares strawberries, 155 hectares black currants, 64 hectares red and white currants. Important fruit-growing regions include the Lower Austrian and Upper Austrian Alpine Forelands ( Mostviertel Region), the Weinviertel and Wachau regions in Lower Austria, the Styrian hill country, the province of Burgenland, the Carinthian plains (lower Lavant Valley, the Klagenfurt basin, Gail Valley), the Lower Inn Valley in Tirol and the Rhine plain in Vorarlberg. Especially significant are the growing of apricots in the Wachau region, cherries and soft fruit in the northern part of Burgenland, and the growing of peaches in southern and eastern Styria. Production totalled in 1998: 700,000 tons and Austria was 57 % self-sufficient in domestic fruit, and in apples (not including apple juice) 78 %. Per-capita consumption of fresh fruit amounted to 87 kg in 1998 and to 76.3 kg in 1992. Fruit is also processed for the production of fruit juices, canned fruit and jam.

Literature#