Czechia to allocate CZK 100 million from state budget to help fruit farmers

Czechia plans to supplement the aid for Czech fruit growers proposed by the European Commission with an additional CZK 100 million from the state budget, Agriculture Minister Marek Výborný announced on social media site X on Thursday.

Fruit harvests were massively damaged by severe frost this spring and lost revenues were estimated at over CZK 1.3 billion. According to estimates from June, the Czech fruit harvest will amount to 31,430 tonnes this year, down 77 percent compared to the five-year average.

The EC had previously proposed releasing EUR 15 million (around CZK 378 million) from reserves to help Czech fruit farmers who had suffered losses due to the frost. With the additional CZK 100 million from the Czech state, that will mean a total of almost half a billion Czech crowns at their disposal. Výborný noted that it would not be possible to compensate 100 percent of the damage, but he said the money would at least help fruit growers survive this difficult period.