Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Ukraine: loss of up to 100% of stonefruit crops in western regions
An unexpected cold spell has caused damage to orchards and berry plantations in the western and some central regions of Ukraine, according to Fruit-Inform.
On the night of April 25th, air temperature fell to 4-6 degrees below zero in the western and central regions of Ukraine and caused serious damage to orchards in Chernivtsi, Khmelnytskyi and Zakarpattia Oblasts with some farms reporting of losses of up to 100% of their stonefruit crops.
Berry growers from Cherkasy Oblast also say of damages and expect losses to reach 30-40% in the region with plantations under early strawberries to have suffered the most.
Meanwhile, it should be noted that the situation in the southern regions of Ukraine (the main stonefruit producing ones) is more optimistic: lack of sharp drops in temperature and moderate rainfall have been favoring blossoming and fruit set.