Greenhouses in the south of Kazakhstan could not stand the freezing cold caused by the recent snowfall and broke under the weight of the snow, leading to many young crops being lost. As a result, the price of vegetables may rise soon.
In Shymkent, tomatoes froze over, and many cabbage seedlings died. The greenhouse workers say that there have been no such frosts seen in the region for the last ten years and they were not ready for such cold weather.
"We spent millions on seedlings and invested all our time and effort in them in the hopes of a bountiful harvest. Due to the shortage and poor coal quality, we simply could not heat the greenhouses to the temperature we needed. That's why the harvest died," says Serik Mustafaev, assistant manager of a greenhouse in the region.
Some farmers won't plant vegetables at this time for fear of losing their harvest again and ending up in debt. Instead, they wait for it to get warmer in the south before planting new seedlings. Experts say southern vegetables will most certainly be late this year.
Source (Russian): kt.kz