Italian crops lost to frost

A cold snap in Italy has caused sweeping damage to the country’s agriculture in the past month, with asparagus, carrots, artichokes, fennel, turnips and beets all affected. Coldiretti is now fearful for the upcoming peaches, apricots, plums, pears, and apples, which are either in full bloom, budding or with small fruits ready to grow.

Lazio has paid a particularly high price, with kiwi, almond, peaches, apricots and hazelnuts all affected. In the area between Colonna and Velletri, there is still considerable damage to the post-fruit set of kiwis, with up to half of the yellow kiwi crop potentially lost.

President of Coldiretti Lazio, David Granieri, said,

“We lost 50% of the production of the yellow kiwi and have had damage to many almonds in Viterbo. In some areas we have experienced a production slowdown and the frost has also damaged the asparagus fields. In Maccarese there are significant damages to the cultivation of potatoes and in Sabina to peaches and apricots. Catastrophic weather events then hit the hazelnuts of Tuscia. It is a heavy blow now that Italians are searching for vitamins to help strengthen their immune systems against the virus. Household expenditure on fruit and vegetables has jumped by 16% in national supermarkets according to IRI data.”