After a warm March, low temperatures and frost have recently hit Central and Western Europe, some countries experiencing the coldest months of April ever observed, with temperatures well below freezing. Winegrowers and fruit growers in Croatia, France, Italy and parts of Germany said their hopes for good crops were ruined.

According to Croatian Fruit Growing Association, local fruit growers have lost the battle with the morning frost, in some orchards the damage to certain crops such as cherries, plums, apricots, cherries being estimated at 90 - 100%. The actual value of the losses will be known in about 10-15 days, given that fruit growers will have to invest heavily in an attempt of preserving the condition of plants, thus reducing some of the damage. "Fruit growers who invested in protection by rain or dew saved perhaps 100% of the future harvest. However, such protection is expensive, so only the largest and most modern plantations in Croatia have it - those that usually have contracts with retail chains," the president of the association stated for the local press. "There might be a huge problem in the making, as insurance policies do no cover damage caused by frost that occurred prior to 10 April," he told total-croatia-news.com. "That's something that will be discussed with insurance companies and the ministry which covers 70% of the cost of insurance premiums from Measure 17 of the Rural Development Programme," he added.

In France, according to the Agriculture Minister, several hundred thousand hectares of cultivated land have been affected by the severe frost, with 10 of the 13 regions on the French mainland being affected. In Germany, as the previous period was not so warm, the plants are only just about to sprout so they were less affected by the sudden cold weather. Yet, according to the Hessian State Association for Commercial Fruit Growing, quoted by www.wetter.de, at least 20 to 25% of the berries harvest was lost.