The frost that hit the Czech Republic in recent days after 30-degree heat destroyed almost the entire future fruit harvest in the western part of the country, and the amount of damage may exceed 43 million USD, ČTK news agency reports.
In Moravia, the eastern part of the Czech Republic, damage to the future fruit crop can be approximately 50% or even more if cold weather occurs. The total financial losses of farmers who grow fruit and deliver it to the national market will amount to more than one billion kroner (about 43 million USD).
The head of the Union of Gardeners, Martin Ludvik, whose words were quoted by the agency, said that the April frosts, uncharacteristic of the climate of the republic, have become one of the biggest disasters for the industry in the last 100 years. “The damage was so great because the weather had been unusually warm in the previous weeks and the fruit trees were in full bloom,” he said.
The Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic will provide assistance to gardeners. The department is preparing a special program for their support in the amount of 70 million kroner (about 3 million USD) - 100 million kroner (about 4.2 million USD). In addition, the leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture is considering the possibility of providing favorable loans to farmers.
Record colds for the end of April were registered in the Czech Republic. In some parts of the country, overnight temperatures reached minus 15 degrees Celsius. Snow fell in the mountainous regions, the thickness of which exceeded 30 centimeters in some places. In the middle of the month, meteorologists reported tropical heat, when the air warmed up to 31.5 degrees.