Ukrainian gardeners are in a critical situation due to large-scale crop losses caused by spring frosts. According to the specialized agricultural publication EastFruit, citing the Ukrsadprom association, adverse weather conditions destroyed the harvest of stone crops in several regions of the country, which threatens not only the profits of farms, but also their financial survival.

According to the head of Ukrsadprom, Taras Mynk, two powerful waves of frosts have actually left most of the cherry, sour cherry, apricot and peach orchards without a harvest. Farmers in Transcarpathia and Bukovina, regions specializing in growing early varieties of fruit, have suffered the most. There, according to experts, crop losses reach 100%. The situation is somewhat better in the southern regions of the country, but up to 60% of the production has been destroyed there as well.

As a result, many horticultural farms have found themselves on the verge of bankruptcy. A significant part of farmers used loans and attracted foreign investments to develop horticulture. Some of them received state grants, which provide for the fulfillment of specific conditions - job creation, payment of taxes and compliance with certain production indicators.

Now these obligations are becoming almost impossible to fulfill. Gardeners were left not only without income, but also with constant costs for maintaining gardens, even if they do not yield a harvest this year. Without state support, farmers may lose both gardens and business as a whole.

Given the situation, the Ukrsadprom association appealed to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine with a request to urgently intervene. In particular, options for state support are proposed: the introduction of a mechanism for deferring loan payments and reviewing the terms of granting grants that were issued before the catastrophic frosts.

Taras Mynko emphasized that even in the event of a complete loss of the crop, orchards need care, financing, and protection in order to have a chance to resume production next season. If urgent measures are not taken, the consequences could be long-lasting for both the agricultural sector and the economy as a whole.