Main points
- Spring frosts damaged orchards in Ukraine, with Transcarpathia, the southern and central regions being hit hardest, but about 50% of the sweet cherry harvest can be saved.
- Due to deteriorating pollination conditions and a possible second frost, cherry prices may increase by 30-50% in the new season.
Frost hits the cherries / Photo Pixabay
Spring frosts have seriously damaged Ukrainian orchards and threatened the cherry harvest. However, some plantings have survived, and the market still has a chance to receive up to half of the berries.
Frosts damaged the gardens, but part of the harvest was saved
Volodymyr Pechko, head of the Ukrsadvinprom association, says that this spring weather conditions have become a serious challenge for Ukrainian gardeners, Delo.ua reports. In a number of regions, the temperature dropped to minus six degrees Celsius, which negatively affected fruit crops.
As the specialist noted, the greatest losses were suffered by Transcarpathia, the southern and central regions. At the same time, the situation is not critical throughout the country: some gardens were able to withstand the cold snap.
Important! According to preliminary estimates, about 50 percent of the cherry harvest in Ukraine can still be saved. This allows us to avoid a complete failure of the season, although the losses remain significant.
Risks remain and prices could rise
An additional problem for gardeners has been the deterioration of pollination conditions. Due to the cold weather, bees remain inactive, while for the normal process a temperature of at least +15 degrees Celsius is required.
In the western regions, particularly in the Lviv region, orchards are currently actively blooming. However, the risk of repeated frosts in May remains, which could further affect the final harvest.
Pay attention! Experts are already warning about a possible increase in the price of cherries. Due to crop losses and increased costs for producers, prices in the new season may increase by 30-50 percent compared to last year.
Apricots and peaches under threat: Ukraine predicts high prices due to cold weather
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Ukraine may face a shortage of apricots and peaches due to prolonged cold weather that destroyed a significant part of the harvest in the central and southern regions.
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Prices for these fruits could increase by 20 to 80 percent due to insufficient import volumes from Turkey, Greece, Spain and Moldova.
Thus, the Ukrainian fruit market in 2026 risks facing not only a shortage of products, but also a significant increase in prices for consumers.