Heavy rains, hail and a noticeable decrease in the average daily air temperature in the central and western regions of Ukraine may negatively affect the apple crop this year.

This is evidenced by monitoring data of IA "Infoindustriya". According to market participants, cooling and rains in areas leading in apple production (Khmelnitsky, Vinnitsa and Chernivtsi) have already led to insufficient pollination.

In some areas, the ovary crumbled due to frost. All this will negatively affect the yield of apples, but gardeners have not yet made hasty conclusions.

An apple producer from the Vinnitsa region says a smaller apple crop was expected this season than the record year 2018, but gardeners did not expect such a noticeable deterioration in weather in May.

According to preliminary forecasts, this year the apple harvest will be at least 20% less than in the past. As forecasters predict, soon there will again be frosts. Only after them it will be possible to give a more accurate forecast and calculate the loss.

Recall that 2018 brought Ukrainian gardeners a yield of 1.46 million tons of apples, which was the highest indicator in the history of monitoring. But even despite a tangible increase in apple production both in Ukraine and in the EU countries, Ukrainian exporters were able to ship 57 thousand tons of these fruits to the world market.