Prices for fruit are rising
The icy spring as well as the storms of recent weeks have led to some massive crop losses among European farmers. The consequences of this are rising fruit prices at the start of the summer. In fall, vegetables could also become more expensive.
Wednesday, September 15, 2021
As “20 Minuten” reports, the prices of various fruit varieties have risen significantly. Especially for berries and stone fruit, the cool temperatures of the past few weeks in Central Europe have been far from ideal. Imports of apricots, peaches and nectarines from nearby countries have increased by up to 17%. Although the frosty nights in spring destroyed almost the entire Valais apricot harvest, Swiss fruit is not currently affected by the price increases, writes “20 Minuten”.
Will vegetables also be more expensive soon?
On the other hand, Swiss vegetables – especially potatoes – could soon become more expensive. The spring harvest could still be successfully recovered. But heavy hail could severely damage the potato haulm. This would also have an effect on the tubers in the soil. The wet weather is also ideal for blight to spread.. As the vegetable association says to “20 Minuten”, the bad weather could soon have an impact on vegetable prices.
Good to know
Potatoes are also scarce in Switzerland. In July, the Federal Government increased the import of potatoes by 5000 tons. Due to poor weather conditions in April and May and high household consumption, stocks of Swiss potatoes have fallen. In addition, the potato tubers have a shorter shelf life because they were already considerably aged when they were put into storage last fall due to the hot summer of 2020. Now it turns out that the 2021 harvest will not be able to meet demand: The wet cold weather has massively encouraged the spread of herb and tuber rot. The Federal Office of Agriculture (BLW) had to increase the import quota again. And the industry needs to adjust purchasing conditions, approve smaller potatoes and pay farmers higher prices. So potato chips will be smaller and more expensive this year.
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