Results from the Scottish Agricultural Census: June 2024

Final results and detailed tables from the 2024 June Agricultural Census on land use, crop areas, livestock and the number of people working on agricultural holdings.

Module results on slurry storage and agricultural machinery are also included within this publication.


Area for strawberries decreases

Total soft fruit growing area decreased by 5.8% in 2024 compared with the five year average. The total soft fruit area in 2024 was 2,000 hectares similar to the area in 2023.

Strawberries remained the most popular grown fruit, but declined by 11% to 1,000 hectares in 2024 compared with the five year average (1,100 hectares) and decreased by 1.6% when compared with 2023.

The area used to grow blackcurrants increased by 15% compared with the five year average while the area used to grow blueberries decreased by 3.1%. The area used to grow raspberries has been in long-term decline since 2010 and in 2024 fell below 200 hectares.

In 2024, 70% of soft fruit is grown under cover in either glasshouses or walk-in plastic structures called 'poly-tunnels'.

Figure 6: Area of strawberries, raspberries, blackcurrants and other fruit, 2014 to 2024

Line chart of strawberry, raspberry, blackcurrant and other fruit area between 2014 and 2024. In 2014, strawberry area was 900 hectares, raspberry was 300 hectares, blackcurrant was 300 hectares, and tomatoes, blueberries and other fruit was 200 hectares. In 2024, strawberries had risen to 1,000 hectares, raspberries had declined to 200 hectares, blackcurrants had increased to 400 hectares and other fruit had increased to 400 hectares.

Contact

Email:  agric.stats@gov.scot

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