France: Breton strawberries fall victim to storms

Storm Ulla caused great damage in the Finistère end of last week. Strawberry producers are the most affected. Strong wind shattered greenhouses and production tunnels. Hardly recovered from previous storms, farmers are seriously starting to worry about recurring repair costs

For Francois Corre, producer in Plougastel-Daoulas, the damage includes tens of kilos of broken glass, having been hit full on by gusts of wind on Friday. The Breton farmer now fears a cold spell and frost for his strawberries, ''panes are missing and if the cold comes too soon it would be bad for the strawberries''.

The strawberry plants fared relatively well, but the harvest risks being delayed due to the weather. Repair costs are particularly worrying. Jean-Jacques André is a producer as well as Manager of an insurance company and estimates that the bills could go up to '' thousands of Euro''. ''We will have to reorder glass in Holland and it's expensive'' he says.

For many producers in Plougastel-Daoulas, the tunnels protecting part of the production have been blown apart by the wind and they will have to wait for a proper break in the weather before beginning repair work.