Extreme weather is wreaking havoc in Romania, causing damage to essential stone fruit. Fresh Plaza recently reported that consecutive freezing temperatures and frost have impacted harvest yields for the season.
What's happening?
Cold temperatures as low as 17 degrees Fahrenheit have hit Romania and lasted an entire week, according to Bogdan Baianu, CEO and co-founder of Romanian fresh produce exporter Cerasus Grup Romania. While Romania is not a stranger to these types of drops in temperature, frosts have never lasted five straight days.
As a result, stone fruits such as cherries, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and plums endured high levels of stress, according to Baianu. For peaches, about 90-100% of crops "have been wiped out," and for cherries, about 70-80% of the harvest has been lost across Romania.
Baianu explained to FreshPlaza that the "freezing conditions have had a devastating effect on the stone fruit production in Romania."
Why are cold spells in Romania important?
Extreme weather has been impacting crops across the globe, making our food supply more vulnerable and scarce. Farmers around the world have been trying to combat rising global temperatures, more frequent droughts, and, in this case, sudden temperature drops.
For farmers, extreme weather threatens their livelihood, making it increasingly challenging to yield successful harvests. As countries continue to rely on polluting energy sources, extreme weather will continue to impact our food supply.
For consumers, extreme weather can cause grocery prices to increase. In South Africa, for example, food prices have skyrocketed due to prolonged droughts.
What's being done about extreme weather?
In Romania, farmers are advocating for assistance from the government.
"The Romanian growers are in a scary predicament at the moment, and as an organisation we're trying to put some pressure on the government," Baianu told FreshPlaza.
"We're asking them to help out these growers, as the current losses would be devastating for them if they don't receive any help from our Ministry," he added.
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