Damage to fruit crops due to frosts will exceed a billion crowns, according to fruit growers’ estimates. Most of the fruit trees in Bohemia are damaged, the frost destroyed almost 100 percent of the harvest. The damage in Moravia is about 50 percent, and the situation there may worsen due to the weather. The Ministry of Agriculture will launch a program with the help of 70 to 100 million crowns for fruit growers, its amount will be specified. Minister of Agriculture Marek Výborný (KDU-ČSL) and Chairman of the Fruit Union Martin Ludvík told journalists today in Daminevsi in Mělnick.
According to Ludvík, this is one of the biggest damages to the domestic harvest in the last hundred years. The damage is so fundamental also due to the fact that in the previous weeks the weather was above average and the plants were significantly ahead of the usual situation in terms of flowering and fruit growth.
“Now we actually face a year and a half of expenses without any income. It’s really fatal for us,” said SAD agronomist Pavel Kašpárek. He added that the company’s long-term business risk has been spread over, for example, the cultivation of various fruit species. The trees are in different locations with different altitudes, but this year due to the weather, the crop is destroyed across the board. This applies to cherries, sour cherries, apples and pears. The company has orchards in the vicinity of Daminevsi in Mělnick.
“In addition to direct assistance through the risk program, we will also look for ways of operating support and loans,” said Výborný. In addition to ensuring the care of the orchards, fruit growers need money to keep employees, even if they will not have revenue from fruit sales this year. Fruit growers do not have the possibility to insure their business.
