Vegetable production in large parts of Poland has been badly affected by recent heavy rains, which have caused widespread flooding southern parts of the country as well as significant disruption in central regions.
According to several leading growers, the adverse conditions have prevented many growers from tending to crops including broccoli, cabbage and other brassicas, preventing them from spraying plants and harvesting those mature enough to be shipped to market.
'We are facing a big problem due to a decrease in demand and turnover,' said Piotr Wychowalek of Nowalijka, one of Poland's largest vegetable growers and a leading supplier to the country's major supermarket chains.
'Machinery cannot go to the fields, plants cannot absorb any more water and will start to die, and people are not keen to work in such wet conditions,' he explained.
Among the regions worst affected are Malopolska Province in the south, especially around the villages of Golomia and Wawrzenczyce, as well as Leczyce in Wielkopolska Province, west-central Poland.
Brassica production in several of Poland's southern provinces is also understood to have been severely disrupted by the rain.
'In Malopolska, Silesia and Opole, where brassica production is mainly located, there will be some losses in production, but it is to early to say exactly how much,' reported Slawomir Mechacki of Tajfun, a fruit and vegetable producer organisation based in Pruszków, located in the east-central province of Mazovia.
'In two weeks time we will know exact damage to the crop, and we can see in the very near future an increase in prices for our domestic products,' he added.
Rainfall in Mazovia is not thought to have been as intense as in the south, but may still have affected production of broccoli in the region. 'If it doesn't stop raining today (19 May), we will be facing a real problem,' Mr Mechacki added.
Meanwhile, Poland's strawberry growers could face a decrease in production as a result of the cold and moist conditions, one source told Fruitnet.com.
Interviews conducted by Artur Wiselka.
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