From bad to worse for Czech apple growers

It has been a struggle for apple growers this season in the Czech Republic. A Czech grower located in the hardest hit region of Moravia, reported as high as 50% losses for this year's crop. Along with being dry, the region saw temperatures dropping to five degrees below zero in the last weeks of April, which proved too much for the traditional fruit. The national Fruit Growers Union has estimated losses of around 400 million crowns this season, country wide.

Damages are also reported in the warmer regions of Bohemia, where stone fruits and apple trees were in bloom at the time of the frosts. The apricot harvest will be the most severely hit, with the year-on-year drop estimated at 68 percent to a mere 709 tonnes. The country’s peach harvest is expected to drop by 67 percent to 421 tones.

From bad to worse
The last few years have been a struggle for growers and these weather losses are adding insult to injury on the back on declining demand for fresh apples. According to a USDA GAIN Report published in 2015, 'The reason for the decline in consumption is a stronger interest in new fruits and growing consumer purchasing power as well as wider range of fruit choices available in stores. Young people in the urban areas prefer new and exotic fruits such as kiwi, pineapple, kumquat, and passion fruit.'

Harvested areas are also seeing a decline year on year, with 7,624 HA for apples and 681 HA for pears in 2015, compared to 8,721 HA of apples and 704 HA of pears in 2014. The declining trend in areas and numbers of fruit trees is attributed to older fruit trees and a lack of capital to renew orchards.

Apples not the only fruit affected
Fruit prices are expected to remain largely unaffected by lower production, estimated around 17%, which also hit other fruits such as stone fruits (apricots, peaches, plums) and strawberries.

“Prices in the Czech Republic are affected mainly by the European market. If the prices go up, it is not because of a lower harvest in the Czech Republic, but because of the situation in other countries,” Martin Ludvik, head of the Fruit Growers Union.

Frosts have also taken their toll on the strawberry harvest, which is expected to fall by 30 percent to some 2,300 tonnes. The only fruit not to be hit by the late frosts are cherries, because they are not grown in the areas affected.

Hail storms which hit Bohemia at the end of May and early June in the central, east and southern regions, could also affect this year's harvest volumes.