About half of the domestic harvest destroyed by spring frost, the cost will be significant
Orchard owners in several regions are dealing with the consequences of the frosts. According to preliminary estimates by the Fruit Growers Union, the harvest will be roughly half of the average, and the damage could reach hundreds of millions of crowns.
The threat of spring frosts is now probably over. Fruit growers in Czechia can therefore begin to count the damage in orchards. The impacts of the frost vary locally, but in places such as the village of Tulešice in the Moravský Krumlov area, no apricot harvest is expected this year.
“In the entire orchard covering one hectare, I only found a few apricots, so there will be no harvest at all,” says Jiří Kopeček for Czech Radio, pointing to the branches of one of hundreds of trees in his orchard. In addition to the complete destruction of the apricots, the frost also damaged other crops.
“About 50 percent of apples and about 40 percent of plums were destroyed. It will show in the sense that there will basically be no profit, which is unfortunate, because we have to take care of the trees all year. We have to prune them, care for them, and when there is nothing to harvest afterwards, it shows.”
There is not much effective protection against frost beyond measures such as burning paraffin candles. Even when they are used, it is not certain that future fruit will survive the frost.
“First of all, it is a gamble, and it is not worthwhile for us because we farm organically, which means we generally have lower yields, and if the cost of candles is, for example, 40,000 per hectare, it cannot pay off,” Kopeček explains.
According to the Fruit Growers Union of the Czech Republic, this year’s spring frosts destroyed about half of the domestic harvest. The damage varies significantly by region. The situation in South Moravia is described by Ivo Pokorný, chairman of the Fruit Growers Union of Moravia and Silesia.
“South Moravia took a hard hit. We will have to rely on imports, and the 2026 season will be below average in terms of fruit growing. The frosts caused quite a lot of damage.”
According to Pokorný, this will likely also be reflected in fruit prices. The frosts also caused damage in other fruit-growing regions.
“It does not concern only the Czech Republic, but also neighbouring countries such as Germany and Poland, where the damage will be in the billions, so I think fruit in general will become more expensive.”
The price of this year’s fruit from orchards will therefore be determined by the June harvest total as well as the situation in neighbouring countries. However, according to farmers, the outcome will also be significantly affected by drought, which Czechia has been facing for a long time.
