“It is mainly eastern Poland that has felt the effects of the frost most severely, whereas it has not been so serious in the west of the country,” Artur Krakowika of the EU affairs office of the Polish ministry of agriculture told FPJ.

He stressed that detailed assessments of the damage have yet to be carried out, but indicated that in many areas 95 per cent of blossom and fruit buds on stonefruit and top-fruit trees have been damaged. “It may mean that crops will be severely limited,” said Krakowika.

According to the ministry, pears and cherries are likely to be the hardest hit in terms of percentage of their total crops as they are early crops. Plum and apple orchards have also been struck. “And because of the scale of production of apples, which is the biggest crop, in volume terms the frost’s effects will be most severe,” said Krakowika.

Strawberry production has also been harmed. “There will be a decrease in the overall strawberry crop which will be most keenly felt by the fresh market,” said Krakowika. “But due to the fact that raspberries and blackberries bloom later, the frosts should not have made too much of an impact on those lines.”

But Krakowika could not confirm that the temperatures, which fell as low as -7°C, have led to growers experiencing catastrophic fruit losses to take their own lives, as reported by the Polish press.

Topics