We are talking about potential significant financial losses for horticultural farms due to both frost damage to stone fruit crops and high investments in their cultivation. The deputy chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Rada (AAR), Denys Marchuk, said this, ukragroconsult wrote.
Impact of frosts on stone fruit trees
Stone trees were subjected to great stress in winter, and April frosts actually killed a large number of horticulture in Ukraine, the expert said.
The situation with the harvest in Ukraine is uneven – losses were not recorded throughout the country. Transcarpathia, as well as southern and central regions suffered the most.
In the period before Easter in some regions the temperature dropped to -5 °C . In spring, sometimes frosts up to -7 °C were recorded. This affected the formation of early stone trees, in particular apricots, the expert noted.
“As a result, approximately 50% of the crop is definitely lost. If we still see May frosts, it will still be additional losses,” Marchuk predicts.
Rising prices for apricots and cherries
Prices for apricots in the season may increase significantly due to crop losses. According to expert estimates, in case of crop losses of up to 80% of domestic production, the cost of production may increase by more than 40-60% compared to last year.
The reason for the rise in price is the shortage of Ukrainian supply, which is traditionally compensated by imports, keeping the high price level on the market. In addition, the cost of production is affected by additional expenses of producers, in particular, the effects of weather conditions and frosts.
Prices for cherries in Ukraine in the new season may increase by about 30-50% compared to last year. The cost of production is affected by several factors at once: the rise in the cost of plant protection products, fertilizers, fuel, as well as the cost of cultivation and storage. According to the expert, growing stone crops requires up to 15 treatments per season, which significantly increases the cost of production. As a result, even if the season develops favorably, cherries will be more expensive than in the past.
Note by Logos Press. In Moldova, according to the first impression of experts, the damage caused by frosts this year is still significantly lower than last year. Moreover, according to farmers’ observations, in the segment of stone fruits, early peaches suffered the most. Moldova has traditionally been a significant supplier of apricots and peaches to Ukraine.
