Fruit growers and suppliers across central Europe are waiting to discover the full extent of the damage caused to their production by a major period of frost, which reportedly hit parts of the Netherlands, Poland, Austria and north-eastern Italy in early April.
In South Tyrol, the Italian region responsbile for producting Europe's largest apple crop, the Easter weekend apparently saw temperatures plummet to well below zero, with the meteorological department of Trento-based university Iasma registering a low of -3.2°C in certain areas.
Although accurate information is yet to be published, the damage to the region's apple and pear trees is said to be substantial.
'There is certainly damage,' Iasma's Luigi Tolotti told the Trentino Corriere Alpi. 'From various parts of the valleys we're getting confirmation that the cold has hit the entire Val di Non territory.'
Tolotti added: 'To quantify the damage accurately it will be necessary to wait a few days and hope that the temperatures in the next few nights don't fall back below zero.'
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, the Dutch Fruit Growers Organisation (NFO) said severe winter conditions were likely to have caused tens of millions of euros' worth of damage to topfruit production, most notably pear crops, throughout the country.
The worst damage, according to the NFO, occurred in Flevoland in the north of the country, with the harvest estimated to have been reduced to around 20-30 per cent of the forecast total.
Plunging temperatures
In northern and southern parts of the Austria region of Styria, a burst of sub-zero nocturnal temperatures has followed a particularly warm March, the result being that much of an earlier-than-usual blossom has ended up frozen on the trees.
Cherry production in the region, which tends to be known internationally for its apple crop, has reportedly been decimated, while apple and pear production is also thought to have suffered significant damage.
The varieties Topaz and Crown Prince are said to be the worst affected, although concerns have also been raised over the potential skin damage caused to Jonagold and Idared.
In Poland, industry sources suggest frost in the west of the country has affected some cherry and soft fruit production.
However, no adverse weather has been reported in the country's principal apple-growing regions, Grójec and Lublin, which are located to the east.
