July 25 2007, 14:14

Apple harvest will be record low in Zakarpattya

The specialists of ""Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" inform, Zakarpattya region of Ukraine, one of the largest apple suppliers in the country, will face the dramatic production decline this year. The messages from the local orchardists confirm this fact. The main reason is frost injuries in May and complicated weather conditions in June and July.

According to evaluations of "Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits", apple production in Zakarpattya may decline 20-30% in 2007 comparing to the previous year, although the season 2006 was far from being very productive. If this forecast is confirmed, apple harvest in Zakarpattya will be the record low in the recent 7 years. So, the supplies of Zakarpattya apples to the other regions of Ukraine may decline more than twice.

In addition to Zakarpattya, May frosts damaged the orchards in the other regions of Western Ukraine as well. Apple orchards in the southern and central regions of the country were also affected by drought, which declined apple yield and deteriorated quality.