Gloomy lingonberry forecast for northern Sweden

Radio Sweden
Posted: Thursday, August 11, 2016 at 13:12
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Too much rain in North Sweden while the lingonberries were in the flowering stage is likely the reason for this year's bad berry forecast. (iStock) — Too much rain in North Sweden while the lingonberries were in the flowering stage is likely the reason for this year’s bad berry forecast. (iStock)

There will be a lot fewer lingonberries in the north of Sweden this year compared to last, according to the latest forecast from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU).

In the north of the country there will only be 60 percent of the red berries, which Swedes traditionally turn into jam and eat with meatballs, compared to a normal year.

“It’s just in Götaland in the southern parts of Sweden which you could expect to get a decent lingonberry amount this year,” said Jonas Dahlgren an analyst from SLU.

Too much rain

He explained that the bad forecast for the north is probably due to too much rain while the berries were in the flowering stage.

Dahlgren also had words of reassurance for any lingonberry lovers who are worried there might be a shortage.

“If the numbers are low, the amount of lingonberries which are picked out of the forests is just a small proportion of lingonberries, so still there a lot of lingonberries out there for anybody that wants to go and pick lingonberries,” he said.