The cold weather had most growers in the Netherlands back out in the orchards last night, protecting their fruits with irrigation against the cold weather. The total frost damage in Poland and the surrounding countries is still unknown, but it is expected that fruit production, primarily apples, is likely to be reduced.
A Polish importer/exporter said that it is much too earlier to give any kind of estimation about damages. He said that it will take the next 2-3 days before any signs of damage show in the bloom, but a complete picture won't be clear until the end of the month.
Many Polish growers, along with irrigation, have also started using fires along the orchards to protect their apples. In general, losses shouldn't be as bad as in the past, as many growers have now adopted new technologies to protect their crops.
"This year has been extremely unusual. Frosts causing damage somewhere in Europe happens just about every season, but usually, if Poland is hit, we still have the option of sourcing fruits from neighbouring countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium or Germany. I have never seen a situation like this, everyone has been hit with damages, which is going to cause supply issues later on in the season." shared the importer/exporter.
"We are already having supply issues in Poland where the growers have stopped selling the apples they have in storage in the hope that they will get higher prices by waiting. Each time we go back to growers to buy more, the price that it was the time before is not enough. I have even seen apples meant for the industry starting to make their way on the market. Apple prices have increased by 10 cents in the last two weeks. It is definitely more of a market for sellers than for buyers at the moment."
Since the middle of April, temperatures have dropped below freezing a total of fourteen times, which is close to a record.