Czech fruit harvest grew by 2.2 per cent on the year to 152,464 tonnes in 2014 and was the highest since 2009.
Compared to a five-year average, last year's harvest was 11 percent higher, but growers were hit by a price fall after Russia's ban on fruit imports from the EU, Czech Fruit Growers Association chairman Martin Ludvik told the Czech news agency ČTK.
Farmers' prices of apples, which are the main kind of fruit grown in the Czech Republic, dropped by one-quarter, according to Ludvik. Apple harvest rose by 8.5 per cent year-on-year to 130,902 tonnes last year thanks to warm winter weather.
Apple harvest contributed the most to the growth of the total fruit harvest because the harvest of the other main kinds of fruit was lower.
Pear harvest dropped by 50 per cent on the year to 3,800 tonnes last year. Sour cherry, apricot, peach and plum harvest also decreased due to spring frosts.
There are about 17,558 hectares of productive fruit orchards in the Czech Republic, of which 9,023 hectares are apple orchards. Fruit growing employs about 5,000 people, including seasonal workers, in the Czech Republic, ČTK reported.
© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by László Juhász.
